[Editorial] Security void feared

The leadership of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has said that the party will consider impeaching Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun.

A member of its supreme council said in a council meeting on Monday that the Defense Ministry is “amplifying tension with North Korea again by neglecting launches of anti-North Korean leaflets” by South Korean activists, adding that it is “playing with fire to save first lady Kim Keon Hee.” Claiming that the Defense Ministry is trying to turn attention away from the first lady issue, the council member vowed to look into reasons for the defense minister to be impeached.

In a bid to put pressure on the current government, the party is pushing for a special counsel probe into allegations that the first lady illegally intervened in state affairs, but the reasons it cites for impeaching the defense minister are incomprehensible and far-fetched.

As it happened, the remarks came a day after Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened that Seoul will "pay the price for letting civic groups fly balloons containing leaflets toward the North." One is reminded of the previous Moon Jae-in government announcing that it would prepare to ban the flying of anti-North Korea leaflets just about four hours after she demanded the South should do so.

A Cabinet minister can be impeached by a majority vote of sitting lawmakers. The Democratic Party has a majority of seats in the National Assembly, so it can pass an impeachment motion unilaterally. If impeached, a minister is suspended from work pending a decision by the Constitutional Court. To uphold an impeachment motion requires the assent of at least six of the court's nine justices. Currently, there are six justices because the assembly has not elected successors to three recently retired justices. In this situation, unanimous consent would be difficult to achieve and above all, impeachment hearings would likely last for a considerable period of time.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, impeached by the Democratic Party, was suspended from his duties for 167 days until the Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment motion against him. If the party pushes through impeachment of Defense Minister Kim, his position will likely be empty for even longer.

The impeachment of a Cabinet minister requires valid reasons, which are serious violations of the Constitution and/or laws related to their official jobs. However, the reasons the Democratic Party is looking to impeach the defense minister are far short of that. So, even if the party pushes through an impeachment motion against him, chances are slim that the Constitutional Court will uphold it.

Furthermore, last year, the Constitutional Court ruled against the ban on sending leaflets toward North Korea, citing freedom of expression. It is absurd to connect the anti-North Korea leaflets to the impeachment of the defense minister.

The current security situation on the Korean Peninsula is more serious than ever now that North Korea has joined the Ukraine war on the Russian side. North Korean troops are gaining practical combat experience, and Pyongyang expects advanced military technologies from Russia in return for sending troops. If the North receives technologies related to atmospheric reentry of an intercontinental ballistic missile or obtains nuclear-powered submarines, its nuclear military force will be much harder to beat.

Last Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened a meeting of battalion commanders, where he ordered them to make preparations for war. The North has flown trash-filled balloons into the South on more than 30 occasions since late May. It has not stopped its military provocations. It is difficult to understand what the party seeks to achieve by impeaching the defense minister in this situation. We may ask whether it is trying to turn attention away from the jail sentence given to its leader Lee Jae-myung on charges of violating election law.

The Democratic Party is turning to impeachment for political gain. It has so far pushed through impeachment motions for five high-ranking public officials. However, undermining national security is the last thing the party should do, even when it serves its political interest.