Regarding the possibility of impeachment of Acting President Han Deok-soo, Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 15th, “We have decided not to go through the process for now.” It is indeed judged that impeaching even one acting authority coudl lead to confusion in state affairs. Representative Lee proposed the formation of a national affairs stability consultative body among the government and the National Assembly. They are actively trying to resolve the confusion amid concerns about a vacuum in government affairs due to the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol.
Representative Lee held a press conference in the party conference room of the National Assembly this morning and said, “There are a lot of tasks that we need to solve.” The backdrop (background banner) seen behind Representative Lee is a message that reads, ‘Overcome civil war with the people!’ after president Yoon’s impeachment. It was replaced with the phrase ‘National stability!’ Representative Lee said, “We have barely passed a critical juncture, and the crisis is not over,” and expressed concern that trust in the international community has declined due to the diplomatic vacuum, and that national defense, security, and diplomatic vacuum have been seriously affected by the martial law situation.
Representative Lee proposed the formation of a ‘state affairs stability consultative body’ to the government and the National Assembly. Representative Lee said, “The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with all political parties to stabilize national affairs and restore international trust,” and added, “The National Assembly and the government will quickly end the crisis that has spread across the Republic of Korea.” He also emphasized to the financial and foreign exchange management authorities, “Please operate the monitoring system tightly 24 hours a day,” and “The government’s active and proactive role is needed.” The policy is to spare no effort in bipartisan cooperation to resolve economic instability.
The impeachment of President Yoon passed from the National Assembly to the Constitutional Court.Representative Lee said to the Constitutional Court, “Please expedite the process of removing President Yoon,” adding, “That is the only way to minimize the chaos in the country.” He said, “The speedy launch of a special prosecution is necessary.” The standing special investigation and general special prosecution proposed by the Democratic Party were recently passed in the plenary session of the National assembly.He also announced the launch of a special committee for stabilizing state affairs and overcoming civil war,saying,“We will do our best to resolve the chaos and restore the Republic of Korea.”
When asked whether impeachment would be decided based on whether Acting President Han exercises his right to reconsideration (veto), Representative Lee revealed that he had spoken on the phone with Acting President Han the day before. Representative Lee said, “I told him to conduct state affairs neutrally from the government’s perspective, regardless of the ruling or opposition party, and the Prime Minister (acting authority) readily agreed.” He continued, “I also said that because the exercise of the right to veto reflects the differences in policy and political positions between the first and second parties, rejecting one party may be a political bias.”
The acting president inherits the powers of the president according to the Constitution. Accordingly, an acting authority can exercise the right to veto bills passed by the National Assembly. Previously, People Power Party floor leader Kwon Seong-dong requested president Yoon on the 13th to exercise his veto power on six bills that the opposition party passed alone on the 28th of last month, including the amendment to the National Assembly Act. This was before the presidential impeachment bill was passed. The Kim Kun-hee Special Prosecutor Act and the Insurgency Special Prosecutor Act also passed the National Assembly on the 12th. These are bills that the People Power Party opposed on its own.
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Jo Hye-sun, Donga.com reporter hs87cho@donga.com