Ruling Party Lawmakers "Cautiously Predict Yoon's Return to Duty... Lee Jae-myung Must Resign"

"Dismissal of Han Duck-soo's Impeachment Is an Obvious Result"
People Power Party Lawmakers Call for Lee Jae-myung's Resignation and Predict Yoon Seok-yeol's Return

Members of the People Power Party on the 24th evaluated the Constitutional Court's dismissal of the impeachment trial against Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as an "obvious result." While calling for the resignation of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party who led the impeachment effort, they also predicted President Yoon Seok-yeol's return to office.

Lawmakers Kang Seung-gyu, Kim Ki-hyun, Na Kyung-won, Park Dae-chul, and Park Deok-heum held a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court on the same day, stating, "It has been revealed how politically motivated Lee's impeachment attempt was."

Yonhap News

However, they expressed regret over the Constitutional Court's decision to dismiss rather than outright reject the impeachment trial against Acting President Han. Lawmaker Na said, "In a way, this opens the door to political impeachment," adding, "It is fundamentally a decision that tolerates the paralysis of state affairs, which is very regrettable."

They also raised issues regarding the quorum for the impeachment resolution, which had been controversial. Lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun argued, "Even though the required two-thirds of all members were not met, the Constitutional Court's decision to dismiss is like grading a test differently from the textbook," calling it "a fraudulent act against the people." Lawmaker Park Dae-chul also said, "It is extremely concerning as it effectively grants a pardon to one-party slave dictatorship pushed through by numerical power."

They brought up accountability directed at National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and Lee Jae-myung. Lawmaker Kim criticized, "Since Speaker Woo has become an accomplice to the political impeachment by siding with the Democratic Party, he should take political responsibility and resign from his position as Speaker," and added, "Lee should also take responsibility for the national turmoil and immediately resign as party leader."

They also linked the dismissal of Acting President Han's impeachment to the expected ruling on President Yoon. Lawmaker Na stated, "The Constitutional Court should promptly set a date for the presidential constitutional trial ruling," and argued, "If judged according to the Constitution and laws, a cautious prediction can be made about the president's return to office." Lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu also said, "Looking at the content of the ruling, we can cautiously hope for the possibility of dismissal or rejection of the presidential impeachment trial."