Park Chan-dae Attacks Yoon, Accusing Him of "Violating the Constitution" and Calls for Impeachment

First Floor Speech by Party Leaders After Opening of 22nd National Assembly
"Constitutional Order Crisis... Cause Is Autocratic and Uncommunicative Leadership"
Emphasizes Constitutional Amendment and Pension Reform Centered on Democratic Party Reforms

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "If President Yoon Seok-yeol continues to go against public opinion, he will eventually follow an unfortunate path." The Democratic Party also indirectly mentioned 'impeachment' to pressure President Yoon during the first negotiation group representative speech since the opening of the 22nd National Assembly.

In the negotiation group representative speech at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 4th, Floor Leader Park said, "The president's veto power has become a 'constant,' and the president even skipped the opening ceremony of the National Assembly." He added, "The ruling party claims that the opposition is practicing parliamentary dictatorship, but the real dictatorship is being carried out by the president," and criticized, "Passing only the bills that suit the president's taste is not democracy." He further attacked, saying, "The constitutional order is in crisis," and "The fundamental cause is the hypocrisy of saying one thing and doing another, irresponsibility that only knows how to get angry but not take responsibility, and a leadership characterized by arrogance and lack of communication that refuses to listen to others."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Park Chan-dae, floor leader, are conversing at the National Assembly plenary session on the 28th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Floor Leader Park also launched an offensive, claiming that the personnel appointed by the president are anti-constitutional. He emphasized, "The constitution is being trampled upon," and said, "The president, who has the duty to uphold the constitution, appointed those who deny the constitution to public office." He continued, "He appointed a person who talks about restoring the honor of pro-Japanese collaborators as the director of the Independence Hall, and a person who claims that our people had Japanese nationality during the Japanese colonial period as the Minister of Labor," and argued, "Appointing those who openly deny the constitution as public officials is an act that denies the legitimacy and identity of the nation itself." The National Assembly can pass a resolution to impeach the president if he violates the constitution or laws.

Meanwhile, he also expressed the will to implement reforms centered on the Democratic Party at the National Assembly level. He said, "We must conclude pension reform," and criticized, "The pension reform plan newly proposed by the president renders the previous National Assembly discussions useless and is a bad plan that divides the people." He added, "In the 21st National Assembly, pension reform failed due to opposition from the government and the ruling party," and said, "We must focus on creating a plan that all citizens can accept."

Floor Leader Park also argued, "We need to speed up constitutional amendment." He said, "Since the inclusion of the May 18 spirit in the preamble of the constitution, the introduction of a four-year single-term presidency, and the adoption of a runoff voting system are all matters on which consensus can be reached, let's start amending these in the 22nd National Assembly," and mentioned a specific timeline, saying, "I hope the constitutional amendment can be completed by the local elections at the latest in two years."