Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker from the Reform New Party, made a statement regarding the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment motion. He commented on the Democratic Party’s so-called “nine losses out of nine attempts” record, saying, “The Democratic Party needs to express its regrets humbly.”
On the 26th, during KBS Radio’s “Jeonggyeok Sisa,” he remarked, “This was a strategic failure from the start,” and noted that “Every time an impeachment motion is filed, the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee hires a lawyer, and I understand that the costs run into hundreds of millions.”
He criticized, stating, “More than anything, haven’t the heads of agencies who were impeached been unable to perform their duties? And those being impeached weren’t just ordinary people but included the Prime Minister, Ministers, and the Auditor General. This has somewhat paralyzed a significant part of state affairs.”
He continued, “They probably didn’t anticipate that today’s appellate court ruling (for the Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung’s violation of the Public Official Election Act) would come out before the impeachment trials,” adding, “Since Lee is in a precarious position, there might have been a sense of urgency compared to other situations, leading them to pursue such excessive impeachments.”
Regarding the theory, raised in some opposition circles, of simultaneously removing President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, he commented, “It’s not sensible; rather, I think the Democratic Party intends to spread conspiracy theories among its supporters,” emphasizing, “Politicians shouldn’t just claim things are strange or suspicious without logical conclusions.”
On whether the dismissal of PM Han’s impeachment motion might relate to President Yoon’s impeachment trial, he stated, “Since PM Han’s defense lasted only an hour and a half before proceeding with the ruling, it seems they didn’t delve into very specific facts,” adding, “It seems they deliberately excluded any judgments regarding President Yoon.”
He concluded, “The Constitutional Court will likely be paying some attention to today’s appellate ruling for Lee. If today’s judgment leads to increased social unrest, they might consider a cooling-off period until the verdict on President Yoon’s impeachment.”