The First Impeachment of a State Council Member in Constitutional History... What Are the Previous Cases?

Im Sang-min Impeachment Proposal Passed in Plenary Session
Previously, Impeachment Proposals for Roh Moo-hyun, Park Geun-hye, and Lim Seong-geun Passed
Park Geun-hye Is the Only One Whose Impeachment Proposal Was Upheld in History

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min was impeached by the National Assembly on the 8th, marking the first case in constitutional history where a Cabinet member was impeached by the National Assembly. With the passage of this impeachment motion, Minister Lee's duties are suspended, and he must await the Constitutional Court's ruling.

The impeachment motion against Minister Lee was passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly that afternoon, with 293 out of 299 members present voting: 179 in favor, 109 against, and 5 abstentions.

With the passage of this impeachment motion in the plenary session, Minister Lee has the dishonor of being the first Cabinet member to be impeached. Historically, excluding Minister Lee's case, there have only been three instances where impeachment motions were passed in the plenary session: former President Roh Moo-hyun in March 2004, former President Park Geun-hye in December 2016, and former Chief Judge Im Seong-geun, who was implicated in judicial corruption in February 2021.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The impeachment motion against former President Roh was initiated by 157 out of 271 members of the National Assembly at the time and passed with 193 votes in favor. The impeachment, which had suspended Roh's duties, was dismissed two months later in May, allowing him to return to office. In the case of former President Park, 171 out of 300 members initiated the motion, and it passed with 234 votes in favor. Park was removed from office in March 2017 following the Constitutional Court's ruling. Former Judge Im's impeachment motion was initiated by 161 out of 300 members and passed with 179 votes in favor. However, his impeachment was dismissed by the Constitutional Court eight months later.

There have been previous attempts to impeach Cabinet members before Minister Lee, but most were either discarded or rejected. This is due to Article 130, Paragraph 2 of the National Assembly Act, which requires a vote within 72 hours after a 24-hour reporting period following the plenary session report. In September 2015, an impeachment motion against former Minister of Public Administration and Security Jeong Jong-seop was submitted but discarded as no vote occurred within 72 hours after the plenary report. Former Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki faced three impeachment motions?two in December 2019 and one in 2020?but none were voted on due to expiration of the deadline. Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae also had an impeachment motion initiated in January 2020, but it was discarded after the deadline passed. In July 2020, another impeachment motion against Chu was initiated and actually went to a vote but was rejected with 109 votes in favor, 179 against, and 4 invalid votes.

Once the impeachment motion is delivered to the Constitutional Court, the impeachment trial process begins. Additionally, the motion is individually delivered to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Minister Lee personally. Upon delivery, Minister Lee's duties are suspended, and the impeached individual cannot be dismissed until the impeachment trial concludes.