Minister Sang-min Lee's Impeachment Proposal Passed... First Ever Impeachment of a Cabinet Member in Constitutional History
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Presidential Office stated on the 8th that the impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, was "an abandonment of parliamentary principles and will be recorded as a shameful history in legislative records."
On the same day, at the National Assembly, the impeachment motion against Minister Lee was passed in the plenary session with 293 out of 299 members present voting: 179 in favor, 109 against, and 5 abstentions. This is the first case in constitutional history where an impeachment motion against a cabinet member has passed. Except for the president, an impeachment motion requires the support of at least one-third (100 members) of the total assembly members to be proposed, and a majority (150 members) to be approved.
On the 7th, the three opposition parties?the Democratic Party, the Justice Party, and the Basic Income Party?jointly proposed the impeachment motion against Minister Lee with 173 signatures, and on the day of the vote, 179 members supported it in a secret ballot, leading to its approval.
Initially, Speaker Kim Jin-pyo planned to table the impeachment motion after the government questioning session. However, the Democratic Party pushed for a change in the agenda to prioritize the impeachment motion. With the passage of the impeachment motion, Minister Lee's duties were immediately suspended. Deputy Minister Han Chang-seop is expected to assume the duties in an acting capacity.
Earlier, Lee Jin-bok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, told reporters at the National Assembly that "there is nothing violating the constitution or laws, so I believe this action is inappropriate."
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