Democratic Party's Second 'Impeachment Card'... Ruling Party "Lee Jong-seop Resignation Plan May Be Considered"

Opposition: "Impeachment of Lee Jong-seop to be party stance after party meeting"
Ruling party: "Concerns over 6-month security gap"

As rumors of a change in the Ministry of National Defense's command line emerged within political circles, the opposition party announced its intention to file an impeachment motion against Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop. The reason cited is that Minister Lee allegedly obstructed the investigation into the case of Sergeant Chae Su-geun of the Marine Corps through illegal means. This marks the second impeachment attempt against a cabinet member by the Democratic Party under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, following the motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.

On the 12th, Park Joo-min, head of the Democratic Party's Task Force for the Truth Investigation of the Marine Corps Sergeant Death Case, stated on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" regarding the impeachment motion, "Today, we will go through the procedure of setting the party's stance through a party meeting," adding, "If the decision to proceed is made at today's meeting, it will likely happen around next week."

The Democratic Party's push for impeachment against Minister Lee is due to suspicions of external pressure on the investigation related to Sergeant Chae's death. Park said, "Based on multiple confirmations through government questioning and questions in the relevant standing committee, as well as recent ongoing reports, it appears that the minister, who has no authority in this matter, interfered by ordering not to transfer the case or to reduce some of the involved personnel during the transfer related to Sergeant Chae's case," adding, "That itself is an illegal act."

Members of the Democratic Party of Korea's National Youth Committee held a press conference on the morning of the 29th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging the investigation of allegations of the Presidential Office's interference in the investigation of the late Corporal Chae Su-geun's death case. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

Although there are views that the impeachment might become futile amid speculation that President Yoon Seok-yeol could conduct a cabinet reshuffle before Chuseok, Park emphasized that the impeachment push will proceed even if the government announces a reshuffle immediately. If the impeachment motion is filed and passes the plenary session of the National Assembly, Minister Lee will be suspended from duty until the impeachment trial results are announced, preventing the government from dismissing him or appointing a successor.

Park also criticized the government's stance for not dismissing Minister Lee and others involved in the alleged investigation interference. He said, "The government's current position is not that something wrong was done by the Ministry of National Defense's command line and that responsibility should be taken through replacement," adding, "Rather, they say it was done well, which directly contradicts our view that the minister bears some responsibility."

In response, the People Power Party criticized the 'investigation interference allegations' as not constituting grounds for impeachment and warned that it could cause a security vacuum. Yoo Sang-beom, the senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said on the same radio program, "The investigation authority has already been transferred entirely to civilian police, and what the Marine Corps investigation team did was not really an investigation," emphasizing that 'investigation interference' cannot be established.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop is attending the Cabinet meeting held on the 12th at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding the 'order to withhold transfer,' he said, "It was not about investigating the facts but about requesting a review of the legal judgment on the matter, so the order to withhold transfer was given from the standpoint that such a review was necessary," adding, "That is naturally permissible."

Senior spokesperson Yoo also stated that if an impeachment motion against the Minister of National Defense is filed, "a six-month security vacuum will occur," and to prevent this, the option of the minister submitting a resignation before the impeachment motion could be considered.

He added, "If the minister submits a resignation before the impeachment motion, effectively the grounds for impeachment disappear, making it meaningless."