Yoon In-chon Appeals for Restraint in Impeachment of High-Ranking Officials, Urges "Show Wisdom"

"Great Risk Could Threaten People's Daily Lives"
"We Must Help Focus on Stable Government Administration"

The government appealed for restraint in response to the opposition party's successive submissions of impeachment motions against high-ranking public officials.

Yonhap News

On the 10th, Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, delivered a statement titled "A Message to the People" at the Government Complex Seoul in his capacity as government spokesperson. He began by expressing an apology to the public. "South Korea is currently experiencing unprecedented serious difficulties," he said, adding, "The government feels indescribably distressed and apologetic about the pain and confusion that the people are enduring."

Minister Yoo emphasized, "To overcome these difficulties, the government must operate normally at all times and in all circumstances in accordance with the Constitution and laws." This was a concern regarding the National Assembly's continued impeachment motions.

He explained, "The National Assembly reported impeachment motions against Park Seong-jae, Minister of Justice, and Cho Ji-ho, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, simply because they failed to prevent the declaration of martial law. Including Lee Sang-min, former Minister of the Interior and Safety who resigned earlier, all ministers responsible for public safety and justice administration in South Korea have become vacant."

He added, "Even before the declaration of martial law, nearly twenty high-ranking public officials, including Choi Jae-hae, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, were consecutively impeached, making it difficult for the government to operate normal state affairs."

Yonhap News

Minister Yoo expressed concern, saying, "If all ministers responsible for public safety become vacant in such a situation, it could pose a great risk to the daily lives of the people." He appealed, "We must absolutely prevent a situation where stable state administration becomes difficult. Only by maintaining trust with the United States, as well as the trilateral relationship among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, and many allied countries, can our economy and people's livelihoods endure the crisis."

He then addressed the opposition party, saying, "In this era of crisis, what saves the people is calm rule of law," and earnestly requested, "I sincerely ask the party holding the majority of seats to show wisdom and restraint so that legal and political procedures proceed in accordance with the rule of law, allowing the government to focus on stable state administration."