"Schedule Changes Possible Under National Assembly Act"
Possibility of Obstruction by People Power Party Lawmakers
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 8th that it intends to prioritize the impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min in the National Assembly plenary session. Speaker Kim Jin-pyo decided to put the impeachment motion to a vote on the same day, but the party pressured that the vote should take place before the government questioning session.
Oh Young-hwan, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, stated in a notice that "today's plenary session agenda was set as 1. Government questioning 2. Impeachment motion against Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety," adding, "therefore, the Democratic Party will prioritize the impeachment motion through the procedure of agreeing to change the agenda according to Article 77 of the National Assembly Act."
He continued, "This is based on page 356 of the National Assembly Act commentary regarding the 'order of agenda entries' and past cases of impeachment motions being voted on in plenary sessions (2004, 2016, 2020, 2021)," and explained, "The Democratic Party will ensure the passage of Minister Lee's impeachment, which is the people's mandate today."
Earlier that morning, Speaker Kim told reporters that the impeachment motion against Minister Lee "is currently on the agenda" and "the vote is scheduled after the government questioning session."
According to Article 77 of the National Assembly Act, if there is a resolution by the plenary session with the consent of 20 or more members or if the Speaker deems it necessary after consulting with the representatives of each negotiation group, the Speaker may add items to the agenda or change the order of the agenda for the day. Additionally, page 356 of the National Assembly Act commentary specifies the order of agenda entries as personnel matters, budget bills, and legislative bills.
Regarding this, Spokesperson Oh told reporters, "According to the order of agenda entries in the National Assembly Act commentary, this is appropriate, and looking at past cases where impeachment motions were voted on in plenary sessions, including precedents such as former High Court Judge Im Seong-geun and former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, who handled impeachment motions before government questioning sessions, this is natural."
Earlier that morning, the party leadership also emphasized the plan to process the impeachment motion at the Supreme Council meeting. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said, "The National Assembly will handle Minister Lee's impeachment motion today in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution," adding, "It is the first step to correct the irrational irresponsibility of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which does not reflect even in the face of a horrific disaster." Floor leader Park Hong-geun also said, "From now until the acceptance of Minister Lee's impeachment, we must overcome three walls: the National Assembly plenary session, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and the Constitutional Court," and pledged, "The Democratic Party will definitely overcome these three walls with human conscience, the common sense of the people, and national responsibility."
The People Power Party is expected to block the motion, as it informed its members through the floor administration office notice that "there is a very high possibility that the Democratic Party will submit a 'motion to agree to change the agenda' and attempt to put the impeachment motion on the agenda just before the government questioning session."
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