Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party on the 21st for proposing an impeachment motion against Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance, stating it was "an intention to cut off the entire country beyond intimidation of the individual. "
During a press briefing held at the National Assembly that afternoon, the floor leader noted, "Lee, a repeat offender with four previous convictions and twelve criminal charges, has completely embarked on the path of terrorism, which destroys governance."
He raised his voice, saying, "Despite it being evident that Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will return next Monday, the insistence on impeaching the Deputy Prime Minister of Economy is an emotional revenge that has lost its purpose. With the waves of the global tariff war being high, and with the return of Acting Han Duck-soo as the diplomatic control tower, it shows the intention to thoroughly destroy governance by impeaching Deputy Minister Choi Sang-mok."
Regarding the Democratic Party's accusation against Acting Choi related to suspicions surrounding the Mir Foundation for "bribery and coercion charges," he criticized it as "petty behavior that even local gangsters wouldn't do," adding, "Although they monopolized legislative power, truly substantial politics cannot be found in Lee Jae-myung's dictionary."
The floor leader pointed out, "The reason why the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung's group are making such reckless moves is clear. After legal procedural issues arose in the impeachment trial of the president, they are trying to overturn the situation by deploying Ma Eun-hyeok, a candidate for Constitutional Court Justice from the People's Solidarity and the Our Law Research Society, and further, trying to lay the groundwork for Lee Jae-myung to protest the second trial verdict through asphalt protests."
He added, "Today's 30th impeachment motion clearly shows how deceptive the words like good economy, practicality, livelihood, growth, and recovery that Lee Jae-myung has recently uttered are," asserting, "Politics with words and actions that differ is nothing but a deception to the public."
Earlier, the Democratic Party and four other opposition parties submitted the impeachment motion against Acting Choi to the National Assembly's legislation office that afternoon. It is the 30th impeachment motion submitted during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. The grounds for the impeachment include ▲ complicity in the declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 ▲ refusal to appoint candidate Ma Eun-hyeok for Constitutional Court Justice ▲ refusal to appoint candidate Ma Yong-joo for Supreme Court Justice ▲ refusal to recommend a permanent special prosecutor.
The impeachment motion must be reported at the first general meeting held after its proposal and voted within 24 hours but no later than 72 hours. This means that at least two consecutive general meetings must be held to process the impeachment motion. Currently, there is only one general meeting scheduled for the 27th. The Democratic Party plans to discuss the timing of reporting the impeachment motion and additional general meetings with the National Assembly Speaker on the 27th.
The issue of the "quorum for the impeachment vote of the acting president" that became controversial during the passage of the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is expected to be another point of contention. During the vote on the Prime Minister's impeachment, it passed the National Assembly based on the standard for cabinet members (151 members) rather than the standard for presidential impeachment (200 members). The Democratic Party maintains that the same standard should apply to Acting Choi's impeachment.
On the contrary, the People Power Party believes that the quorum for presidential impeachment votes is necessary again this time. The floor leader responded to a question about what number he sees as the quorum for the impeachment motion, saying, "I naturally think it should be 200 members."
The People Power Party plans to request the National Assembly Speaker to refuse the proposal of the impeachment motion. The floor leader stated, "I will tell the Speaker not to propose it."