"Lee Sang-min, 'Constitution and Law Violations'... Democratic Party Pushes for 'Lee Sang-min Impeachment' (Comprehensive)"

Joint Impeachment Proposal by 야3당
Report to Plenary Session on the Day and Future Voting Plans
Opposition: "Composed of Highly Credible Data"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea has reached a party consensus to propose an impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min in connection with the Itaewon disaster. The three opposition parties (Democratic Party, Justice Party, Basic Income Party) jointly submitted the impeachment motion to the National Assembly Secretariat on the afternoon of the 6th for reporting at the plenary session. The grounds for impeachment cited violations of the Constitution and laws by the Minister of the Interior and Safety, who oversees disaster and safety management affairs.

Opposition: "Majority of lawmakers support impeachment"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated in a briefing after the party’s lawmakers’ meeting on the morning of the 6th, "The Democratic Party held a lawmakers’ meeting today and decided as a party consensus to propose an impeachment motion against Minister Lee to hold him accountable for the Itaewon disaster, to uphold the values of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, to heed the will of the people, and to fulfill the responsibilities of the National Assembly."

The leadership had been collecting opinions from party lawmakers and the public. The leadership reported that at the lawmakers’ meeting that day, a majority of lawmakers supported pushing for Minister Lee’s impeachment. Floor spokesperson Lee Su-jin explained, "Except for about one person who expressed concerns toward the end of the meeting, all lawmakers gave their opinions to proceed together, including reviewing the contents of the impeachment motion."

Regarding concerns that the impeachment motion against Minister Lee could be dismissed by the Constitutional Court, he explained, "During the 2004 impeachment process of former President Roh Moo-hyun, the Constitutional Court ruled that unlike the president, other public officials’ dismissal would have relatively less impact on potential issues arising from it. For political appointees, ministers or vice ministers can substitute, or other ministers can take over, so considering the usual one-year term and clear violations of the Constitution and laws, as well as weighing the pros and cons of dismissal, we judge that the Constitutional Court can sufficiently accept this case."

That afternoon, Democratic Party lawmakers Park Joo-min (head of the Itaewon Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters) and Kim Seung-won (party legal committee chairman), Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young, and Basic Income Party co-representative Yong Hye-in jointly delivered the impeachment motion to the National Assembly Secretariat on behalf of the three opposition parties. The three opposition parties plan to report this motion at the plenary session of the National Assembly that afternoon and submit it as an agenda item.

Impeachment motion cites 'violations of Constitution and laws'

The impeachment motion submitted by the three opposition parties specifies that Minister Lee, despite being responsible for overseeing and coordinating disaster and safety management affairs, "failed to take preventive measures against the mass crowd accident that caused the large-scale disaster in the alley next to the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, failed to prepare for smooth cooperation among related agencies in the event of a large-scale disaster, and did not activate the disaster countermeasures headquarters or establish a recovery headquarters in a timely manner despite recognizing the occurrence of the disaster and not promptly following the president’s instructions."

Additionally, it pointed out his inappropriate remarks that hurt victims and bereaved families, and his failure to establish and operate a system to effectively prepare for large-scale disaster situations, among other comprehensive criticisms.

The legal violations cited as grounds for impeachment include ▲violation of the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety ▲violation of the obligation to take prior disaster prevention measures ▲violation of the obligation to take post-disaster response measures. Constitutional violations include provisions such as "The primary duty of the state is to guarantee the life and safety of the people" (Article 34, Paragraph 6) and "All citizens shall have dignity as human beings and the right to pursue happiness" (Article 10 of the Constitution). It also cites violations of the National Public Service Act regarding the duty of public officials to faithfully perform their duties and maintain dignity.

Regarding the seriousness of the grounds for impeachment, it emphasized that unlike the president, the effect of dismissal on public officials is relatively minor, thus dismissal should be considered.

In this regard, lawmaker Park Joo-min highlighted the difference in a press conference after the proposal, saying, "Former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment included the Sewol ferry disaster as a reason but was not accepted as grounds for impeachment. However, for the Minister of the Interior and Safety, there are specific laws that clearly impose certain obligations."

Lawmaker Kim Seung-won also explained about this impeachment motion, "We are fully aware of concerns about possible dismissal by the Constitutional Court, so we tried to include rich content in the impeachment motion. The materials submitted include credible and official documents such as those from lawmakers who worked on the National Assembly Budget Committee, materials disclosed at the National Assembly Special Committee on Inspection, and documents submitted under penalty of perjury."

Ruling party: "Democrats just dislike Lee Sang-min"

As the opposition submitted the impeachment motion, the ruling party immediately rebutted. Jang Dong-hyuk, floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that afternoon, "The moment the Constitutional Court dismisses the impeachment motion, the Democratic Party will face stern judgment from the people and tremendous backlash."

He added, "The prosecution’s investigation into the Itaewon disaster is still ongoing, and the police investigation has not confirmed any illegal acts in the performance of duties, yet they are rushing to impeach. They just dislike Minister Lee. More precisely, they dislike the establishment of the Police Bureau and dislike Minister Lee who is preventing the Democratic Party from controlling the police."