“Considering the Seriousness of the Matter, Proceeding Cautiously with Substance and Procedure”
Pro-Yoon Faction Rebellion… “Misunderstanding of Party Leader’s Authority”.
On the morning of the 12th, the People’s Power Party’s leader, Han Dong-hoon, held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol.
The People’s Power Party’s Central Ethics Committee began deliberations to discuss disciplinary procedures such as expulsion or removal of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared martial law.
On the afternoon of the 12th, the Ethics Committee notified the press, saying, “We held the 3rd Central Ethics Committee meeting today (12th) at 10 PM,” and announced, “We have begun deliberations on commencing disciplinary procedures against the president, and given the gravity of the matter, we decided to proceed cautiously concerning substance and procedure.”
Earlier, Leader Han stated in a meeting with reporters after President Yoon’s national address, “We didn’t expect such a statement at all,” and added, “After seeing the address, I urgently instructed the Ethics Committee to convene to expel or remove President Yoon from the party.”
He further commented, “It has become even clearer that the president can no longer fulfill his duties as president.”
In contrast, pro-Yoon Seok-yeol lawmakers strongly opposed the move. Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong expressed his view to reporters, saying, “Rather than expelling, wouldn’t it be better to convey such intentions to the Yongsan presidential office, so the president can determine his own course of action?”
Representative Kang Seung-gyu criticized on his Facebook regarding Leader Han’s directive to convene the Ethics Committee, saying, “Leader Han is attempting a ‘surprise expulsion’ of the president solely through the Ethics Committee without even having a vote on impeachment or deliberation in the general assembly of lawmakers,” and pointed out, “He is under a great illusion about the authority of the party leader.”
Representative Yoon Sang-hyun also questioned on Facebook, “What is the reason for bypassing the procedures for gathering opinions from party members and lawmakers to this extent?” and added, “How can we possibly expel and exclude a president we elected ourselves?”
Meanwhile, the predecessor of the People’s Power Party, the Liberty Korea Party, took action to expel former President Park Geun-hye in October 2017, approximately eight months after the Constitutional Court’s decision on her impeachment.