Democratic Party Plans to Submit Motion to Dismiss Lee Sang-min as Scheduled on the 30th

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending a members' meeting held at the National Assembly on the 29th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Myunghwan] The Democratic Party of Korea is expected to proceed with the originally planned submission of the 'Motion to Dismiss Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min' on the 30th, holding him accountable for the Itaewon tragedy.

On the 29th, a Democratic Party floor official stated, "Although there are many opinions advocating for the submission of an impeachment motion, we have decided to submit the dismissal motion tomorrow (the 30th) as scheduled."

The Democratic Party had previously planned to submit the dismissal motion on the 30th, have it reported as an agenda item at the plenary session on the 1st of next month, and then vote on it at the following day's plenary session. This plan was expected to be adopted as the party's official stance at the afternoon caucus meeting on the 29th. However, some hardline lawmakers insisted on immediately submitting an impeachment motion, preventing it from being adopted as the party line.

During the caucus meeting that day, the party decided to delegate future responses to Floor Leader Park Hong-geun. It is known that after discussions with the floor leadership, Park decided to proceed with the original plan.

Since a motion to dismiss a cabinet member requires the support of at least one-third of all members to be proposed and a majority of all members to be approved, the Democratic Party, holding 169 seats, can pass it on its own. However, before the dismissal motion was even submitted, the Presidential Office mentioned the possibility of boycotting the parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon tragedy, effectively indicating that it cannot accept the dismissal motion, which may lead the Democratic Party to reconsider its plan. The scenario of immediately submitting an impeachment motion against Minister Lee instead of a dismissal motion cannot be ruled out.

At the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Floor Leader Park said, "(President Yoon) will be held accountable without delay by pushing forward with an impeachment motion if he ignores the will of the people and the National Assembly."