After the 12·3 martial law, the heads of organizations affiliated with the People Power Party, who had responded in unison, are now expressing conflicting positions before and after the vote on President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment motion. Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo even claimed that "the council must be disbanded."
On the 15th, Mayor Hong continued his criticism of the People Power Party leadership, including Representative Han Dong-hoon, and the party-affiliated provincial governors who turned to support the impeachment, through Facebook. On that day, he wrote, "Wasn't the goal mutual destruction (同歸於盡, fighting to the death together)? Since the impeachment motion has been filed as you wished, just disappear," adding, "If you keep holding on, it will only make things uglier and you will be dragged out." He further said, "Take the lemmings with you," and "Even if you stay in this party, you are nothing more than Democratic Party spies."
This is interpreted as a remark aimed at Representative Han, who has expressed a stance for suspension of duties and impeachment of President Yoon, and the lawmakers who voted 'in favor' in the impeachment vote the day before. Immediately after the impeachment motion was passed, Mayor Hong also stated, "I cannot contain my despair over Han Dong-hoon and the lemmings' rebellion, who failed to control the 12 votes that switched to support and volunteered to be Lee Jae-myung's second unit," and insisted that those lawmakers should be expelled.
He also mentioned the disbandment of the People Power Party Provincial Governors' Council, which had once agreed on opposing impeachment and adopting a responsible prime minister system. On the previous day, Mayor Hong wrote on Facebook, "Not even two days after the entire provincial governors resolved to oppose impeachment, the Incheon Mayor and Seoul Mayor, who led the meeting, reversed their stance to support impeachment without consulting other provincial governors, so the People Power Party Provincial Governors' Council can no longer be trusted by party members and the public," adding, "Since the central party leadership took responsibility for the impeachment motion and was disbanded, the People Power Party Provincial Governors' Council inevitably must be disbanded as well."
Earlier, the People Power Party Provincial Governors' Council, after an emergency meeting at the Seoul Press Center on the 6th, issued a statement saying, "President Yoon Seok-yeol should form an emergency national unity cabinet led by a responsible prime minister and step back to the second line," and "The president's impeachment must be avoided. Further suspension of the constitutional order must be prevented."
However, after the first impeachment vote was stalled on the 7th, the situation changed rapidly, and some heads of organizations shifted their positions. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated on the 12th, "Based on the facts revealed so far, the president should face legal judgment through impeachment," and "That decision should be made as the party's official stance," implying that impeachment should be pursued as the party line.
Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, who is also the chairman of the People Power Party Provincial Governors' Council, said on the same day via Facebook, "Judging from President Yoon's statement today, his understanding of the situation is still wrong," and "I withdraw my previous position that impeachment must be avoided."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
