Possibility of Impeachment Against Acting Prime Minister Choi to Be Reviewed at Party Meeting
Heavy Burden of Actual Impeachment... Little Political Gain Expected
The Democratic Party of Korea set the deadline for the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk as a Constitutional Court justice candidate to the 19th, issuing a final ultimatum to Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. The Democratic Party has left open the possibility of considering impeachment if Acting Prime Minister Choi does not appoint candidate Ma by that day. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, warned Choi by mentioning the possibility of arrest, saying, "Be careful."
Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the tent protest site set up in Gwanghwamun that morning, "Appoint Ma Eun-hyuk as a Constitutional Court justice candidate today according to the Constitutional Court's decision." Park pointed out, "Acting Prime Minister Choi exercised his ninth veto yesterday. It is the 40th veto since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the highest record since the 45 vetoes during the Rhee Syngman administration."
He raised his voice, saying, "By seriously infringing on the National Assembly's authority like this, our country is treated as a defective democracy, downgraded from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy." Earlier, according to the 'V-Dem Democracy Index' released on the 13th (local time) by the 'Varieties of Democracy Institute' (V-Dem) at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, South Korea ranked 41st out of 179 countries worldwide, dropping one rank from last year.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 7th. 2025.2.7 Photo by Kim Hyun-min
He added, "Considering that former President Rhee Syngman exercised veto power 45 times over 12 years, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has set a record with 40 vetoes in just three years, effectively the highest ever." He criticized, "In particular, Acting Prime Minister Choi has set a rare record as the third highest veto user after Rhee Syngman and Yoon Seok-yeol." He also accused Choi of proving that he is Yoon Seok-yeol's avatar.
Park said, "At the Cabinet meeting where Acting Prime Minister Choi exercised his ninth veto yesterday, he earnestly appealed to the people to respect and accept any decision of the Constitutional Court." He questioned, "How can someone who blatantly does not follow the Constitutional Court's decision say such things so shamelessly?" He emphasized, "It has already been three weeks since the Constitutional Court decided to appoint candidate Ma. Before telling the people to follow the Constitutional Court's decision using evasive language, Acting Prime Minister Choi should lead by example by respecting and accepting the Constitutional Court's decision."
The background for the Democratic Party setting the appointment deadline for candidate Ma to today is interpreted as growing anxiety over the approval of impeachment due to the delay in the Constitutional Court's hearing date for President Yoon's impeachment trial. Some in the political circle initially expected the Constitutional Court to deliver the verdict on President Yoon's impeachment on the 14th, but since the verdict date has not been set by today, there is cautious talk of the possibility of dismissal.
As the situation became serious, the tone of remarks toward Acting Prime Minister Choi also intensified that day. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said to Choi, "You are not simply failing to fulfill a legal obligation but are neglecting the most important constitutional duty," adding, "Neglect of duty is a crime in flagrante delicto. Anyone, including the police, can arrest you immediately." He said, "From this moment on, anyone among the people can arrest Acting Prime Minister Choi as a criminal neglecting duty, so I hope he takes care." Jeon Hyun-hee, a Supreme Council member, also pressured, saying, "Today is the last warning. Appoint candidate Ma immediately."
The Democratic Party plans to consider at a party meeting the possibility of impeaching or filing charges of neglect of duty against Acting Prime Minister Choi if he does not appoint candidate Ma by evening. However, the prevailing opinion is that the Democratic Party feels a heavy burden regarding Choi's impeachment. If Choi is impeached, it would be the 30th impeachment of a government official since martial law, and the actual effect gained through this would be minimal. There are also concerns that an impeachment attempt without clear justification could accelerate the defection of moderate conservatives.
The People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party's warning to Acting Prime Minister Choi as "intimidation." They said the reason Choi did not appoint candidate Ma was due to the recommendation lacking parliamentary consultation. Yoo Sang-beom, the ruling party's floor deputy of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, told reporters at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, that morning, "Since the recommendation was made without parliamentary consultation, the position is that the appointment cannot be made at this stage, and there is no change." He criticized, "(The Democratic Party) is intimidating the head of the executive branch again with impeachment, and all the people recognize this as parliamentary dictatorship."
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