Six Opposition Parties Propose Impeachment of Lee Jin-sook... Vote Expected Tomorrow

Democratic Party Plans to Proceed with State Audit on Lee Jin-sook

The opposition parties filed an impeachment motion against Lee Jin-sook, the newly appointed Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, just two days after her inauguration. The impeachment motion is expected to be processed as early as tomorrow. The Democratic Party of Korea plans to conduct not only the impeachment of Chairperson Lee but also a parliamentary investigation into the appointment process of public broadcasting directors.

Lee Jin-sook, nominee for the Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, is delivering a greeting at the confirmation hearing held on the 24th at the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 1st, six opposition parties?the Democratic Party, the Party for Justice and Innovation, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the New Future Party?submitted an impeachment motion against Chairperson Lee to the National Assembly's Secretariat. In a statement, the six opposition parties said, "The three-day confirmation hearing revealed significant issues regarding her morality and qualifications," adding, "Chairperson Lee has operated the Korea Communications Commission unlawfully from her first day in office as a mere puppet of Yongsan. The National Assembly must impeach her to control abuse of power and uphold the Constitution."

The impeachment motion was immediately reported to the plenary session of the National Assembly. According to the National Assembly Act, an impeachment motion must be put to a secret ballot vote between 24 hours and 72 hours after being reported. The opposition plans to process the impeachment motion against Chairperson Lee on the 2nd. With 192 seats, the opposition is expected to pass the impeachment motion smoothly, as it requires the approval of the majority of the total members.

This impeachment motion was filed just two days after Chairperson Lee's appointment. Former KCC Chairpersons Lee Dong-gwan and Kim Hong-il also voluntarily resigned following impeachment motions led by the opposition. However, Chairperson Lee has stated that even if her duties are suspended due to the impeachment motion, she will await the Constitutional Court's decision.

The Democratic Party also plans to conduct a parliamentary investigation into the resolution process for appointing public broadcasting directors by the Korea Communications Commission. Kang Yoo-jung, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said, "We are strongly pushing for a parliamentary investigation centered on the members of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Communications Committee," adding, "The term of the directors of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation begins on the 12th, and we aim to start the parliamentary investigation within that period."