The leadership of the People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party, stating on the 24th regarding the Constitutional Court’s dismissal of Prime Minister Han Deok-soo's impeachment trial, it was a "serious warning against the opposition party's reckless legislative recklessness" and "the constitutional hammer fell on the conspiracy of rebellion mobilized by Lee Jae-myung's forces." They demanded a public apology from Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.
Chairperson Kwon Young-se held a press conference immediately after the Constitutional Court's ruling on the Prime Minister's impeachment trial, stating, "It has once again been confirmed that the impeachment motion, passed under the Democratic Party's leadership last December, was a politically motivated impeachment aimed at destroying the constitution from the beginning," and called it "a stern warning from the judiciary against the opposition party's reckless legislative recklessness."
"The Democratic Party's attempt to misuse impeachment motions to paralyze state affairs and tame the government has repeatedly failed in the face of national common sense and the principles of the rule of law," he continued. "Now that the judiciary has once again applied the brakes, the opposition party must immediately stop its reckless challenges that go against the spirit of the constitution. They should put aside the impeachment motion against the acting Prime Minister for the sole purpose of political strife."
He further requested that upon returning, Prime Minister Han "has many issues to take care of. I hope he cares for the citizens suffering from the intense pain caused by wildfires occurring across the country. He must pay attention to the frozen civilian economy and respond swiftly to the rapidly changing global trade environment." He also stated, "The People Power Party will do its utmost to quickly restore a close cooperative relationship with the acting Prime Minister and resolve the national chaos."
Chairperson Kwon also emphasized, "The Constitutional Court must thoroughly examine whether there are procedural defects and substantive issues in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol without being constrained by time."
Kwon expressed hope that the dismissal of Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial would have a positive influence on the impeachment trial of President Yoon. He stated, "Since it is a separate case, there is no direct impact, but each (constitutional court judge) is including their individual opinions in the ruling. If a trial is conducted in this manner and if more deliberation is done properly, I cautiously hope that the outcome of the impeachment motion against the president could be resolved positively."
Floor leader Kwon Seong-dong took aim at the dismissal of Prime Minister Han's impeachment case, warning that it was a warning against the opposition's serial impeachment attempts. He said, "To impeach not only the president but also the acting president is the peak of a rebellion attempt by the opposition party, paralyzing the Republic of Korea's executive branch and constitutional order based on political calculations," and evaluated that the dismissal of Prime Minister Han's impeachment was "the constitutional hammer falling on the conspiracy of rebellion mobilized by Lee Jae-myung's legislative powers."
He further criticized, "Chairman Lee Jae-myung should repent before the people for stalling state affairs for 87 days with an impeachment motion that he knew would surely be dismissed, solely for his own political purposes."
In response to the inquiry, "Do you believe the neutrality of the constitutional judges is well upheld?" Floor leader Kwon said, "Judge Jeong Gye-seon presented opinions completely different from the other seven. The People Power Party raised various questions about political bias even before Judge Jeong was appointed. In that regard, considering the results of this ruling, I think there was some degree of validity to those questions."
He urged the Democratic Party, which continues its protests outside the Assembly, to stop political strife. Floor leader Kwon said, "The Democratic Party should abandon the ineffective impeachment of Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and the protests outside Gwanghwamun, and return to the National Assembly. For national disaster response and economic crisis management, the national governance council including Acting Prime Minister Han Deok-soo should be restored."
Earlier, the Constitutional Court dismissed the National Assembly's impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han. Among the eight judges, five issued dismissal opinions, one issued a citation opinion, and two issued dismissal opinions. However, the argument by Prime Minister Han's side that the voting quorum should be that of the president (200 seats) instead of the prime minister (151 seats) was not accepted. Except for constitutional judges Jeong Hyeong-sik and Jo Han-chang, the judges believed that it was appropriate to apply the voting quorum according to the original status of the acting president.
In response, Floor leader Kwon expressed that "the judgment to set the voting quorum at 151 seats is extremely regrettable. This grants the Constitutional Court unlimited impeachment authority against the acting president by the opposition party, and criticized, "The Constitutional Court has opened the possibility for the re-pursuit of the impeachment motion against Acting Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, which sets a terrible precedent for the future, as the majority party could misuse impeachment against ‘the acting president’, ‘the substitute acting president’, ‘the substitute of the substitute acting president’ if the president is suspended from duties."