Yoon Sang-hyun "Han Deok-su Impeachment? Democratic Party, Stop Legislative Overreach Behavior"

"Impeachment of Acting Authority Difficult to Pass by Democratic Party Alone"
"Clarify the Approval Requirements First"

Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo requested reconsideration on the Grain Management Act and other laws on the morning of the 19th, while Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party, urging them to "stop the legislative rampage."

On the same day, Representative Yoon wrote on his social media account, "Today, Acting President Han Duck-soo exercised his right to request reconsideration on six bills unilaterally passed by the opposition party." He added, "The Democratic Party has been threatening to impeach the Acting President if he exercises the right to request reconsideration, so they will likely wield impeachment as an all-purpose weapon again this time." However, he noted, "It is pointed out that to impeach the Acting President, just like the President, a majority of the total members of the National Assembly must initiate the motion, and it must be approved by two-thirds of the total members. Therefore, it will be difficult to proceed with impeachment solely through the Democratic Party's unilateral action."

Yoon Sang-hyun, Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Representative Yoon also argued, "To impeach the Acting President, if more than one-third of the total members of the National Assembly, along with the Prime Minister, initiate the motion and it is approved by a majority of the total members, it would deny the constitutional significance of the Acting President system, which aims to guarantee constitutional and national continuity. The Democratic Party will find it difficult to deny this academic perspective." He further explained, "There has been much debate about the scope of authority exercised by Acting President Han, but the Acting President is not a deputy of the President but a temporary authority holder, and must bear constitutional responsibility during the acting period, which fundamentally differs from the status and authority of the Prime Minister."

He also stated, "The Democratic Party must first clarify the requirements for passing an impeachment motion against the Acting President. They must clearly state whether a majority of the total members' approval is necessary or if a two-thirds majority is required." He added, "This is what a ruling party claiming to have governing authority should do. I ask Representative Lee Jae-myung to clearly state his position on this matter." Furthermore, he emphasized, "The Democratic Party's self-contradiction of threatening immediate impeachment proceedings because the Acting President exercised the right to request reconsideration on bills they forcibly passed through legislative rampage must stop now." He stressed, "They must also stop interpreting the Constitution to suit their own interests and using their number of seats to engage in legislative rampage."

Meanwhile, the Gwangju Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Regime and Social Reform, consisting of 175 civic groups in Gwangju, issued a statement on the same day, saying, "Han Duck-soo exercised veto power not only on the 'Agriculture 4 Acts' but also on the National Assembly's testimony and appraisal law necessary for investigating the December 3rd rebellion and punishing those responsible." They demanded, "The rebel ringleader Han Duck-soo must be immediately impeached." They warned, "We must never take lightly the gathering and counterattack of those trying to protect their political interests by blocking the dismissal of the rebel leader Yoon Seok-yeol." They criticized, "An absolute majority of People Power Party members are desperately claiming Yoon Seok-yeol's rebellion is a high-level political act by the nation's top official."