"Impeachment Process Resumed After Han's Presidential Bid Rumors Were Settled"
Roh Jongmyon: "Choi Fled Because Impeachment Was Certain... Shares Fate with Han Ducksoo"
On May 1, the Democratic Party asserted that its attempt to hold an impeachment vote against Choi Sangmok, former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, was prompted by the resignation of Han Ducksoo, Acting President and Prime Minister. Through this, the Democratic Party directly refuted the People Power Party's claim that the impeachment move was a response to the Supreme Court ruling on Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung.
Roh Jongmyon, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, emphasized in a statement regarding the impeachment of Choi Sangmok and related resignations, "There are claims that the impeachment effort was due to the Supreme Court ruling on candidate Lee, but this is not true." He explained, "The Democratic Party had been pursuing impeachment against both Han Ducksoo and Choi Sangmok, but concerns were raised that this could be misused as a justification for Han Ducksoo's presidential run. Therefore, we decided to reach a conclusion after confirming his intentions." He added, "The timing of the impeachment decision was linked to Han Ducksoo's resignation."
According to the Democratic Party, while considering the impeachment of Han Ducksoo?who had been rumored to run for president?there were concerns that the process could be exploited as a pretext for his candidacy, so the impeachment procedure was temporarily suspended. However, as Han Ducksoo made his intention to resign clear on this day, the issue of his position was resolved, and the Democratic Party resumed the impeachment process against former Deputy Prime Minister Choi, which had been on hold.
At an emergency meeting of Democratic Party lawmakers held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 1st, where the court overturned and remanded the second trial's not guilty verdict on Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung's violation of the Public Official Election Act, the lawmakers wore stern expressions. Photo by Yonhap News
Just before the impeachment vote against former Deputy Prime Minister Choi, Han Ducksoo's official approval of Choi's dismissal was confirmed, resulting in the vote being halted due to "invalidation of the vote." This was because Choi Sangmok submitted his resignation, and Han Ducksoo immediately accepted it, thereby removing the subject of impeachment.
Spokesperson Roh strongly criticized Choi's sudden resignation. He argued, "We assess that he fled because it was certain the Constitutional Court would uphold the impeachment." Regarding Han Ducksoo's acceptance of the resignation, he also pointed out, "The fact that Han Ducksoo, who even held a resignation press conference, immediately accepted Choi Sangmok's resignation confirms that the two are inseparable, sharing the same fate."
This explanation from the Democratic Party serves as a rebuttal to People Power Party Floor Leader Kwon Seongdong, who criticized the attempt to impeach Choi by saying, "The Democratic Party suddenly went into a frenzy, urgently convening the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and submitting the impeachment motion to the plenary session, just because Lee Jaemyung's conviction was overturned and remanded."
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