Yoon’s office tests waters as opposition moves to impeach interior minister

The presidential office is wary of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK’s) attempt to impeach Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min for his allegedly insufficient response to the Itaewon crowd disaster last October.

As the presidential office closely follows parliamentary proceedings, it is contemplating whether to give a response to the passing of the DPK-led motion in the National Assembly.

The DPK plans to team up with two other opposition parties to pass a motion calling for the impeachment of Lee at the National Assembly’s plenary session on Wednesday.

The DPK controls 169 of 300 Assembly seats. A total of 175 lawmakers jointly tabled the motion.

If the Assembly approves Lee’s impeachment, he will be suspended from his job immediately until the Constitutional Court can decide whether to uphold the impeachment or not. If this happens, Lee will be the first Korean minister to be impeached.

To avoid a leadership vacuum in the ministry, the government can replace Lee with a new minister before the Constitutional Court makes a final decision. Alternatively, a vice minister can serve as acting minister.

The DPK has been demanding Lee’s dismissal citing his responsibility in the Itaewon tragedy which killed at least 158 people who gathered there to celebrate Halloween on Oct. 27. In December, the DPK passed a motion demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol dismiss Lee, which the president rejected, saying “fact-finding should come first.”

“Reprimanding Minister Lee is the minimum conscience and the basic duty for a lawmaker whose job is protecting the people,” DPK floor leader Rep. Park Hong-keun said during a party meeting, Tuesday. “The public expected proper apologies and gestures of responsibility, but President Yoon and Minister Lee snubbed the expectations.”

Reportedly, the presidential office is considering the replacement of current Vice Minister Han Changseob with a person of greater political influence to counter the DPK’s impeachment attempt. Han is a career bureaucrat.

“It is inappropriate for the presidential office to release any statement on this because relevant processes are now underway at the National Assembly,” an official at the presidential office said.

However, the official added, “A Cabinet member can be impeached when there is a serious violation of the Constitution or other laws, but many experts are questioning what laws or constitutional articles Lee has violated.”

This is also a point that the DPK is uncertain about. Article 65 of the Constitution states that a motion on impeaching a minister can be passed at the Assembly if “they have violated the Constitution or other acts in the performance of official duties.”

Though Lee faced criticisms over the government’s failure to prevent the tragedy and his controversial remarks denying responsibility, questions remain whether he has violated any laws.

“Some of Lee’s remarks after the tragedy may be seen as inappropriate, but we cannot say this is illegal,” ruling People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young said Tuesday. “In police investigations on the Itaewon crowd crush, there were no violations related to Lee’s duties.”

When the Constitutional Court turned down former President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment motion in 2004, it stated that “political incapability, failures in policy decisions and other matters related to the diligence of performing duties do not constitute a ground for prosecuting a case by themselves, thus they are not the subject of consideration in the impeachment adjudication process.”

The participation of National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Kim Do-eup, a PPP member, in the impeachment adjudication is also a concern for the DPK.

In impeachment cases, the committee chairman serves the role of prosecutor, instituting the wrongdoings of the impeachment subject to the justices of the court. Since Kim is a PPP lawmaker, however, some DPK members raise concerns about whether he will actively serve the role.