Democratic Party "Decision to Initiate Impeachment Procedure for Choi Sang-mok... Timing to Be Further Discussed"

Procedures and Timing of Impeachment to Be Further Discussed
Analysis Suggests Choi May Voluntarily Resign if Impeached
Democratic Party's Kim Yong-min: "Choi Can Directly Accept His Own Resignation"

Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 20th that he would initiate impeachment proceedings against Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance.

After a meeting of floor leaders presided over by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik at the National Assembly that day, Park told reporters, "We have decided to initiate impeachment proceedings as we can no longer overlook Acting Prime Minister Choi's constitutional violations."

However, Park explained, "We will discuss the specific (impeachment) procedures and timing a bit more."

Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Park Chan-dae is attending an emergency members' meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, the Democratic Party held a party meeting the previous night to discuss whether to push for impeachment of Acting Prime Minister Choi but did not reach a conclusion and delegated the decision to the party leadership.

Park said, "At yesterday's party meeting, many members expressed opinions in favor of proceeding with impeachment, and the final decision was delegated to the leadership," adding, "Today, I discussed this matter with Speaker Woo Won-shik."

When asked if Speaker Woo also agreed to impeach Acting Prime Minister Choi, Park replied, "Yes," and said, "The Speaker also agreed that impeachment of Acting Prime Minister Choi is inevitable due to the ongoing unconstitutional situation."

However, it was reported that at the party meeting the previous day, many members expressed opposition, citing public fatigue over repeated impeachment attempts. Park's statement that the specific impeachment procedures would be further discussed is interpreted as a move considering this sentiment.

The Democratic Party is expected to hold a party meeting at the National Assembly in the afternoon to discuss the timing of filing the impeachment motion against Acting Prime Minister Choi.

If the Democratic Party reports the impeachment motion against Acting Prime Minister Choi to the plenary session on the same day, a vote must be held within 24 to 72 hours from that point. This means that at the latest, the plenary session must be reconvened and the vote conducted by the 23rd.

The impeachment motion against Acting Prime Minister Choi can be pushed forward solely by the Democratic Party, which holds a majority of the seats. Speaker Woo judged that even though he is Acting Prime Minister, the approval condition should follow the 'Cabinet member standard (majority of total members, 151 members)' as was the case during the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the end of last year. However, the ruling party argued that since he is Acting President, the 'presidential standard (two-thirds of total members, 200 members)' should apply.

Some analysts suggest that if the Democratic Party impeaches Acting Prime Minister Choi, he may voluntarily resign. Kim Yong-min, Deputy Floor Leader for Policy of the Democratic Party, wrote on his social media (SNS) Facebook that "If Choi Sang-mok resigns, he resigns as Minister of Economy and Finance, and as Acting President, the resignation can be accepted. In that case, since he is no longer Minister of Economy and Finance, his role as Acting Prime Minister would also end simultaneously."