People Power Party Files Jurisdiction Dispute Request with Constitutional Court over Impeachment Hearing
Jeong Cheong-rae, Chairman of the Legislation Committee, "We Will Also Hold an Impeachment Opposition Hearing in August"
The confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over the 'Impeachment Hearing Petition for President Yoon Seok-yeol,' which is just a week away, is intensifying. The government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) have announced legal battles, claiming that the hearing led by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is clearly illegal. On the other hand, the DPK insists that the hearing was conducted properly according to the National Assembly Act and that there is no problem at all.
According to political circles on the 12th, the PPP filed a constitutional dispute and a provisional injunction request with the Constitutional Court in the morning regarding the authority to hold the impeachment hearing for President Yoon. This is because, under current law, matters under investigation or trial cannot be grounds for a petition. The DPK immediately proposed holding a hearing on the petition opposing President Yoon's impeachment, which has garnered 50,000 signatures. Jeong Cheong-rae, a senior member of the DPK and chair of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said on the same day, "We will promote two opposition hearings in August to fairly listen to both the pro and con voices."
On the 9th, opposition party members are raising their hands to vote at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
The ruling party sees the DPK's insistence on pushing forward with the presidential impeachment hearing as an effort to strengthen the legitimacy of Lee Jae-myung's one-man regime following the presidential election defeat. They argue that the hearing is a political act aimed more at humiliating the president than validating the impeachment. This is why Hwang Woo-yeo, the PPP emergency committee chairman, expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "Isn't the mentality of refusing to accept the presidential election results still lingering?"
Political circles view the DPK as expecting the impeachment hearing to play a role in expanding public anti-ruling party sentiment. It is seen as part of a series of special prosecutor bills, such as the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act and the Broadcasting Act reforms, used as cards to pressure the government and ruling party. The interpretation is that the DPK intends to highlight the government and ruling party's failures by provoking President Yoon's repeated use of the veto power.
The problem is that one-sided parliamentary operations could backfire. The growing opposition to Lee Jae-myung's reappointment as party leader is also a similar risk. According to a nationwide index survey (NBS) conducted from the 8th to the 10th by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research through wireless telephone interviews with 1,000 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, opposition to Lee's reappointment was 51%, while support was 35%. Concerns about Lee Jae-myung's one-man regime have also emerged within the DPK. Kim Du-kwan, a candidate for party leader, said, "We will restore the diversity of the Democratic Party."
For more details on the opinion poll, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.
Political commentator Park Sang-byeong said, “At the National Assembly level, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee can hold a hearing in response to the impeachment petition signed by one million people. However, if the Democratic Party tries to use the hearing results to advance legal attempts such as submitting the issue to the plenary session, it could become problematic.”
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