Police Chief Jo Ji-ho Impeached with 202 Votes in Favor
Members from People Power Party and Others Seem to Have Defected
The impeachment motions against Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae and National Police Agency Commissioner General Jo Ji-ho passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. Minister Park and Commissioner General Jo will be suspended from their duties until the Constitutional Court issues a ruling on the impeachment trial. In this vote, conducted by secret ballot just like the impeachment vote against President Yoon Seok-yeol, some ruling party members cast their votes in favor of impeachment despite the party line.
On the 12th, the National Assembly held a plenary session to vote on the impeachment motions against Minister Park and Commissioner General Jo. Minister Park's motion was approved with 195 votes in favor and 100 against out of 295 total members. In the case of Commissioner General Jo, the motion passed with 202 votes in favor, 88 against, 1 abstention, and 4 invalid votes out of 295 total members.
Earlier, Jeon Hyun-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "The two responsible persons who participated in the illegal martial law must be impeached," adding, "As a member of the State Council, Minister Park had the duty to be aware of the martial law declaration plan by the instigator of the rebellion, Yoon Seok-yeol, and to notify the illegal aspects through legal review and prevent it in advance, but he failed to do so."
Regarding Commissioner General Jo, she said, "He abused his authority by blocking the National Assembly, preventing members of the National Assembly from entering, thereby infringing on their deliberation and voting rights for the resolution to lift martial law, paralyzing the functions of the National Assembly, violating the Constitution, and actively collaborating in the rebellion."
In this secret ballot, some members of the People Power Party also supported the impeachment motions.
Previously, the People Power Party decided at a party meeting to reject the impeachment motions against Minister Park and Commissioner General Jo as the party line. Kwon Seong-dong, the new floor leader of the People Power Party, stated, "We have decided as a party line to reject the two impeachment motions."
However, considering that the opposition holds 192 seats, the fact that 202 votes in favor were cast indicates that at least 10 members of the People Power Party supported the impeachment of Commissioner General Jo. In the secret ballot system, the same as the presidential impeachment vote, some ruling party members cast 'conscience votes' regardless of the party line on Commissioner General Jo, whose explicit responsibility for the emergency martial law was revealed. The political circle is paying attention to the possibility that the same phenomenon may be repeated in the impeachment vote on the 14th. According to the Constitution, for the presidential impeachment motion to pass the plenary session of the National Assembly, at least two-thirds of the total members, that is, more than 200 votes in favor, are required.
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