Posted on the 20th, Over 100,000 Views in Less Than a Week
Some Inside Say "Lack of Caution Could Backfire"
"Completed." "Now it begins."
On the afternoon of the 23rd, around 4 PM, a post petitioning the National Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Seok-yeol was uploaded on the fan cafe of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, called 'Jaemyung's Village.' As soon as the post went up, Lee's staunch supporters certified that they had "completed" their agreement to the petition by leaving over 100 comments. Some supporters shared that they had also shared it with family and acquaintances, hoping for greater public attention. As the number of supporters grew, they expressed the hope that the National Assembly would actually move forward with the impeachment motion.
'Petition Requesting Immediate Proposal of Impeachment Motion Against President Yoon Seok-yeol' Posted on the National Assembly Public Consent Petition / Source=National Assembly Public Consent Petition
According to the National Assembly and others, as of 9:40 AM on the 24th, the number of supporters for the petition titled "Request for Immediate Submission of Impeachment Motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol" on the National Assembly's public consent petition platform reached 103,948. A public consent petition is submitted to the National Assembly if it receives 50,000 supporters within one month of posting. This petition received more than twice the required number of supporters in less than a week since it was posted on the 20th. Meanwhile, the "Petition to Prevent Recurrence of the Death of a Trainee in the 12th Army Division" which has been posted for over two weeks, had only 57,483 supporters at the same time, and the "Petition Requesting Improvement of Systems Related to Dating Violence," which has been posted for nearly two weeks, had only 63,560 supporters.
The request for the immediate submission of the impeachment motion against President Yoon is mainly driven by hardline supporters of the Democratic Party. The administrator of Jaemyung's Village shared the post the day before and pinned it as a notice. In fact, the number of supporters, which was only about 50,000 until the day before, rapidly increased after the petition was posted on Jaemyung's Village. Some supporters posted, "In just four days, the number of supporters for the impeachment petition against President Yoon has surpassed 100,000," and added, "Let's aim for one million."
The petitioner explained the reason for requesting the impeachment motion, stating that South Korea has been in a comprehensive crisis since President Yoon's inauguration. They claimed that President Yoon denies the constitutional spirit of protecting public safety and national interests. Furthermore, they cited specific reasons for impeachment, including allegations of investigation interference in the death of Corporal Chae, suspicions regarding First Lady Kim Keon-hee's receipt of luxury bags, stock manipulation, route manipulation of the Yangpyeong Expressway, deterioration of inter-Korean relations, promotion of a third-party compensation plan for forced labor during Japanese colonial rule, and complicity in the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan.
Jeong Cheong-rae, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, is striking the gavel at the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Some Democratic Party lawmakers also mentioned President Yoon's impeachment. On the 21st, at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hyun-hee referred to the Corporal Chae case, saying, "Various phone call contents strongly imply that the president illegally exerted pressure and was involved in the theft of investigation records," and added, "If true, this could be grounds for presidential impeachment due to abuse of power." Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Chung-rae also claimed at the party's supreme council meeting on the 24th of last month, "If the reality of investigation interference in the Corporal Chae case is revealed to be the president, the argument for impeachment will gain tremendous momentum."
However, within the Democratic Party, concerns have been raised that mentioning President Yoon's impeachment could backfire. A Democratic Party lawmaker who requested anonymity said, "I understand the feelings of hardline supporters who want to stop an incompetent administration through impeachment," but added, "There are many factors to consider before it actually leads to impeachment, so we must be cautious." They continued, "If the Democratic Party is not careful regarding impeachment, it could have adverse effects."
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