Kim Jeong-jae: "Sang-min Lee's Impeachment Bill, Jaemyung Lee's Arrest Consent Bill as a Rehearsal"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, evaluated the impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, which was passed in the plenary session under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea the previous day, as a "rehearsal for the arrest motion against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party."

On the 9th, on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' in response to the host's question, "Did you expect the impeachment motion to pass?" Kim said, "Because this is a rehearsal, if one or two people oppose, they will definitely be found out. Since they are found out, although this is a secret ballot, it is actually not secret." He explained that it is a kind of 'ideological verification.'

Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, is being interviewed at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The impeachment motion was passed with 179 votes in favor, and it appears that there were virtually no defections from the Democratic Party. Kim analyzed that this was not voluntary but due to 'fear' related to party nominations. He said, "If a dissenting vote comes out, it is completely stigmatized. Once stigmatized, who knows what might happen next? Someone might quietly resurface and affect their own nomination, so they generally have no choice but to follow the party line."

Kim predicted that the Constitutional Court would dismiss the impeachment motion. He pointed out, "I believe it will be dismissed, and most experts also think so. There is political and moral responsibility, and legal responsibility, but to impeach, the legal grounds for binding responsibility must be met."

He added, "They forcibly linked this and got the impeachment motion passed, but it will be quite difficult to deal with afterward. If it is dismissed by the Constitutional Court, the Democratic Party will bear full responsibility, and since this is a very simple case, it probably won't drag on for long."