President Yoon Impeachment Petition Surpasses 900,000 Signatures... Heated Debate Over Pros and Cons Intensifies

Over 50,000 Signatures Required for Referral to the Legislation Committee, Review Pending
Democratic Party Cautious, Saying "Impeachment Is a Legal Matter"

The number of signatures on the national petition urging the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol has surpassed 900,000. With analyses suggesting that the 1 million mark is just around the corner, heated debates are taking place among netizens regarding this issue.

Petition Surpasses 910,000 in 12 Days... "President Must Address and Reflect on the October 29 Itaewon Disaster"

As of 1 p.m. on the 2nd, the petition titled "Immediately Propose the Impeachment of President Yoon" posted on the National Assembly's public mobilization petition board has garnered over 910,000 signatures within 12 days since it was first posted on the 20th of last month. When accessing the petition, a pop-up message stating "There are currently many users accessing the service; please wait" appears, causing delays in access. The estimated waiting time is about 30 to 40 minutes. The petition acceptance period lasts until the 20th. If the current trend continues, it is highly likely that over 1 million signatures will be collected by the deadline.

The petition has already exceeded the requirement of 50,000 signatures within 30 days to be referred to the relevant standing committee and was forwarded to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 24th of last month. The opposition party, the Democratic Party, has stated that it will handle the petition according to relevant laws in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's Petition Review Subcommittee. The national petition system is guaranteed by the Constitution, and if a specific petition receives 50,000 signatures, it is forwarded to the relevant standing committee, which is the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. After review by the committee, if deemed valid, it proceeds to the plenary session. If passed in the plenary session, it is sent to the government for subsequent procedures.

Park Chan-dae, acting leader of the Democratic Party and floor leader, said at a party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, "Nearly 900,000 citizens have participated in the National Assembly petition urging President Yoon's impeachment. This is a record-breaking speed," adding, "It is expected to surpass 1 million signatures as early as today or by tomorrow at the latest." Park emphasized, "President Yoon's mention of the possibility that the October 29 Itaewon disaster was fabricated has poured fuel on the public's anger. The president must directly clarify his position. Trying to cover the truth with lies will only bring greater disaster."

Jeong Cheong-rae, a senior member of the Democratic Party, said at the party's supreme council meeting, "The number of petition signatories is about to surpass 1 million and will soon continue to 2 million and 3 million," adding, "There is no winning against the people; no regime can defeat the public. In the showdown between the people and the regime, the people will surely win. Let us prepare for that day." Seo Young-kyo, another senior member, said, "We do not know how much or how fast the number of petition signatories will increase," and added, "The president should see this and reflect."

"Pressure on Government" vs. "There Must Be Actual Illegal Acts" - Netizens Debate, Democratic Party Takes Cautious Stance

However, Park Sung-jun, chief floor deputy of the Democratic Party, expressed a cautious stance on SBS Radio, saying, "The Petition Review Subcommittee members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will provide an answer later," and "Impeachment is ultimately a legal matter and must be considered when illegal acts are revealed. Simply pushing it forward because of public sentiment is not in line with a politician's duty."

Among netizens, debates are ongoing. While the majority opinion is that a large number of petition signatures itself will put pressure on the regime, there is also a growing counterargument that the petition itself holds little significance without clear illegal grounds for impeaching the president. On an online community, a post stating, "If the petition surpasses 1 million signatures, it will have a tremendous effect in imprinting President Yoon's impeachment on the entire nation," was met with a rebuttal saying, "It only becomes persuasive if it exceeds the Democratic Party's 2.45 million registered party members." Another user commented, "The petition itself has little meaning. Ultimately, illegal acts must be discovered for it to be possible," pointing out, "During former President Moon Jae-in's time, over 1.45 million people signed an impeachment petition, but nothing happened."

Meanwhile, petitioner A presented five reasons for impeachment: ▲ exertion of external pressure on Park Jung-hoon, head of the Marine Corps investigation unit ▲ acceptance of luxury bribes, stock price manipulation, manipulation of Seoul-Yangpyeong highway routes, and other corruption and abuse of power ▲ provoking war crisis ▲ enforcing a pro-Japanese solution to forced labor issues related to Japan ▲ and aiding the ocean dumping of contaminated water from Fukushima.