Hong Joon-pyo: "Yoon's Release Makes Impeachment Difficult... No Consensus Expected at Constitutional Court"

"Prediction: No Agreement at the Constitutional Court After Yoon's Release"
"Claims 'Indiscriminate Impeachment by the Opposition Disrupts the Constitutional Order'"

Hong Jun-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, predicted that it would be difficult to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol, stating, "There probably won't be an agreement at the Constitutional Court." On the 19th, Mayor Hong attended a talk concert titled "Asking the Future of Korean Politics," hosted by the College of Social Sciences at Seoul National University, and predicted that impeachment would be difficult, saying, "If the president had remained in detention, impeachment would have happened, but he was released," according to Yonhap News. Regarding the reason why he foresaw impeachment to be difficult, he explained, "The composition of the Constitutional Court justices is four left-wing and four right-wing. Among the four right-wing justices, two must side for impeachment to pass, but it won't be easy for them to do so."

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo predicted that it would be difficult to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol, stating, "There will probably be no consensus at the Constitutional Court." Photo by Daegu City

On that day, when asked about the background of President Yoon's declaration of martial law, Hong said, "He said in a media interview that he declared it out of frustration," and criticized the opposition party and former representative Han Dong-hoon, saying, "The opposition party is making things so difficult, and Han Dong-hoon keeps nagging from below, so from the president's standpoint, how frustrated must he be." He continued, "The incident where the left and right faced each other and collided dramatically like a runaway train is the martial law incident and the impeachment motion incident," diagnosing, "No matter how this matter concludes, it will be difficult for the fight to end."

He said, "If the impeachment is accepted, will the country be calm? If the impeachment is dismissed, will everyone accept it and the country be calm? I don't think either is true," and predicted, "If dismissed, the left will occupy Gwanghwamun and hold daily protests demanding the president's resignation, and the candlelight protests will happen again." He also expressed concern, saying, "If the impeachment is accepted and a presidential election is held, it could almost lead to a political civil war."

Regarding future constitutional amendment plans: "We should adopt the American-style bicameral system"

Regarding reform plans within the People Power Party after the impeachment crisis, he pointed out, "Our party often brings in external mercenaries. We practice mercenary politics," and explained, "People who rise from the grassroots don't become the leadership; instead, people who just fly in become the leadership, so there is no cohesion." He added, "The most important reform this party needs is to become a party where people who rise from the grassroots truly become the leadership and have cohesion." This was analyzed as a remark targeting former People Power Party representative Han Dong-hoon.

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo is giving a lecture on the theme of 'Asking the Future of Korean Politics' at Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding national unity measures, he emphasized, "Politics is often thought of negatively as collusion, but if necessary, collusion must happen. That's politics," and stressed, "You have to acknowledge the opposition party. To do that, you need experience in parliamentary politics." He continued to raise his voice, saying, "If a person who has never experienced dialogue, compromise, and communication becomes president, the country will be divided."

Regarding the constitutional amendment plans currently being discussed, he argued, "We need to change the parliamentary system. The unicameral system has no solution when extreme confrontations occur," and stated, "Therefore, we should adopt a bicameral system. If there is a problem in the lower house, the upper house can mediate, like the American-style bicameral system." Finally, he revealed his future political plans. When a student asked, "You are not young anymore; what is the goal of your political life?" he replied, "I am now 70 years old. Compared to former President Kim Young-sam, I am only in my 50s. Haven't I become very young now?" and added, "I think I can be active for another five or six years. President Trump is older than me at 78, isn't he? I think I can continue for another five years."