National Assembly Holds Emergency Inquiry on 'Martial Law'
Park: "Han Deok-su and Han Dong-hoon Colluded... Legal Violations"
Han: "Please Correct Statements... Incorrect Claims"
Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo engaged in a heated exchange lasting about 10 minutes at the National Assembly. Emphasizing his long-standing relationship with Prime Minister Han, Park, who had previously made sharp remarks toward Han during interpellations, once again criticized the Prime Minister by calling him "Yangduguyuk" (a Korean idiom meaning "a show of something good but the reality is bad").
On the afternoon of the 11th, during the emergency current affairs questioning session titled "Emergency Questioning on President Yoon Seok-yeol's Unconstitutional Declaration of Martial Law and Acts of Rebellion" held in the plenary session of the National Assembly, Park claimed, "Prime Minister Han and Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, have orchestrated a soft coup through a 'Han-Han collusion'." In response, Prime Minister Han rebutted, "That is absolutely not true," adding, "The Republic of Korea is a country governed by the Constitution and laws, and it cannot be moved by an individual."
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is responding to a question from Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the emergency urgent question session on "President Yoon Seok-yeol's unconstitutional declaration of martial law and related acts of rebellion" held at the National Assembly plenary session on the afternoon of the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News.
Park criticized, "The Prime Minister bowing at a 90-degree angle to apologize was a mere show of 'Yangduguyuk' and a lie." Han responded, "It is not a lie. I have lived my entire life that way." Park then retorted, "Have you not spent your life chasing only power and glory?" and further criticized, "Prime Minister Han has pursued his own glory by switching administrations." On December 8, Prime Minister Han and Leader Han Dong-hoon jointly announced a statement proposing 'President Yoon's orderly resignation' as a solution to the December 3 martial law crisis.
Throughout the approximately 10-minute questioning period, Park and Prime Minister Han raised their voices as they engaged in a verbal battle. Park repeatedly accused Han of violating the Constitution and laws by attempting to jointly govern the country with Leader Han. Each time, Han responded, "No," and "That is wrong." He also said, "As a former Minister of Justice, you should know well, but speaking as if it is a fact causes misunderstandings," and requested, "Please correct your statement."
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is responding to a lawmaker's question during the 'Emergency Urgent Question on President Yoon Seok-yeol's Unconstitutional Declaration of Martial Law and Acts of Rebellion' held at the National Assembly plenary session on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
In response, Park showed a harsh reaction, saying, "The Prime Minister needs to correct his head," and "Are you losing your mind?" He stated, "While the impeachment of President Yoon should proceed as it is, I believe that under no circumstances should Prime Minister Han become the acting head of state of this country." Park also said that all cabinet members who attended the Cabinet meeting on the 3rd, where President Yoon decided to declare martial law, should be excluded from the position of acting president.
Meanwhile, even within the Democratic Party, there are reactions that "impeaching the Prime Minister is excessive." Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, a member of the Democratic Party, mentioned the day before that he considered the push to impeach Prime Minister Han to be "excessive."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
