South Korea’s opposition-heavy National Assembly on Sunday passed a motion to impeach Interior and Security Minister Lee Sang Min over the government’s failed response to the Itaewon human avalanche that killed 158 people.
The vote had 182 votes in favor and one vote was declared invalid, while it required 150 supporters to go through. However, members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) left the room before the voting process began.
The motion had been submitted on Thursday by the Democratic Party (DP) and has been submitted to the House 72 hours later, as dictated by the rules of the National Assembly, according to Yonhap.
However, there is a possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol may reject the motion, a fact that local media consider likely despite the fact that the DP has threatened to impeach the minister if he rejects it.
This is the second motion passed by the Assembly to dismiss a member of Yoon’s Cabinet. In September, the same party filed an impeachment motion against Foreign Minister Park Jin over a controversy over the president’s trips to the United Kingdom and the United States. However, Yoon rejected it.
Sources in the presidential office told Yonhap on Sunday that the office has «no position» in response to the approval of the motion, which has been interpreted as a rejection of the motion.
In fact, they said Yoon maintains his position that the motion goes against the government’s «ongoing efforts to get to the bottom of the matter,» referring to the Itaewon disaster.
It usually takes a day for the Assembly’s decision to reach the president’s desk, so Yoon is expected to announce on Monday that he rejects the minister’s dismissal after receiving official notification.
