'Impeachment Timer Continues'... Opposition to Re-Push Yoon Impeachment Bill as Early as the 11th

With the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol ultimately failing on the 7th due to the absence of People Power Party members from the plenary session, the opposition, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, immediately announced plans to re-push the impeachment motion. Although the motion did not pass the National Assembly this time, they intend to continue pressuring the ruling party, having confirmed nationwide voices condemning the government and ruling party.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, stated in an emergency statement at the National Assembly Rotunda Hall that evening, "By Christmas and the year-end holidays, we will definitely restore this country to normal and present it as a Christmas and year-end gift." The opposition is considering as early as the 11th to reintroduce the impeachment motion. After the regular session ends on the 10th of this month, they plan to immediately convene an extraordinary session the next day to push the impeachment motion again. Within the Democratic Party, there is also talk of reintroducing the impeachment motion against President Yoon every week.

The reason the Democratic Party is accelerating the re-push of the impeachment motion is that they have confirmed the possibility of an increase in defections from the ruling party in the future. Before the plenary session, the People Power Party confirmed a party line to reject the special investigation law concerning First Lady Kim Keon-hee. However, the voting results were unexpected. The special investigation law received 198 votes in favor and 102 against, with six defections from the People Power Party. Two votes were short of passing the special investigation law, and this number of defections increased by two compared to the re-vote in October. The passing requirement is approval by two-thirds of the total members, which is 200 votes.

Signs of cracks within the ruling party were also detected ahead of the vote on President Yoon's impeachment motion. People Power Party members Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Ye-ji, and Kim Sang-wook attended the plenary session to vote on the impeachment motion, and Cho Kyung-tae initially supported impeachment but later reversed his position, showing internal conflict. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, also showed clear signs of hesitation, initially supporting the immediate suspension of President Yoon's duties, effectively backing impeachment, but then reversing his stance at the last minute.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking after the vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol was defeated at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

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The growing anger among citizens is also a major variable in the impeachment situation. Before the impeachment vote on President Yoon, citizens gathered in front of the National Assembly, with organizers estimating the crowd at 1 million (unofficial police estimate at 100,000). During the impeachment crisis of former President Park Geun-hye eight years ago, candlelight rallies saw exponential increases in participation with each event, playing a decisive role in the regime change.

The Democratic Party plans to maintain the state of emergency continuously and continue the sit-in to defend the plenary session hall. They also plan to intensify their offensive against Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party. Internally, they have hinted at the possibility of considering a "Han Dong-hoon Special Investigation Law." Yoon Jong-gun, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, said in a briefing, "(The Han Dong-hoon Special Investigation Law) has been discussed internally for a long time and is under consideration," adding, "Not only the Han Dong-hoon special investigation but also additional prosecutions exist, so we will consider everything possible at this point."

Representative Lee Jae-myung and other members of the Democratic Party of Korea held a rally urging impeachment and condemning the People Power Party after the vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol was defeated at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

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