People are worried about turmoil in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived declaration of martial law. They expect politicians to play a leading role in disentangling the chaos, but such efforts are barely visible, especially in the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
The party reported a motion to impeach Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency Cho Ji-ho during a plenary session of the National Assembly on Tuesday. It plans to put the motion up for a vote at a plenary session on Thursday. If these officials are impeached and suspended, ministerial positions dealing with public order and judicial affairs administration will become vacant, because former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min has already resigned. There are concerns that law enforcement, a key function of the government, may be weakened.
The Democratic Party is toying with an impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, saying it is ready to impeach him at any time. A senior party lawmaker said the party will impeach him immediately if he abuses his authority. This sounds like he will be impeached if he does not do what the party wants. On Monday, the party reported Prime Minister Han to the police on charges of joining Yoon’s insurrection.
Opposition parties pushed through a Democratic Party bill mandating a permanent special counsel to investigate insurrection charges against the president. They put Han on the list of those subject to the probe.
As the reason to impeach Han, the party claims he aided insurrection because he attended a Cabinet meeting convened to deliberate Yoon's declaration of martial law. In the impeachment motions against the justice minister and the chief of the police agency, the party cited the same reason -- that they failed to restrain President Yoon from declaring martial law.
Based on what we know so far, Han is understood to have opposed the declaration of martial law from the beginning. Furthermore, Cabinet meetings are meant not for resolution but for deliberation. Practically, there is no way for Cabinet members to restrain the president from making a decision. It is hard to hold them responsible on the grounds of merely attending a Cabinet meeting.
Employment and Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo is said to be under review by the party as a target for impeachment. On Dec. 5, two days after the martial law declaration, it pushed through impeachment motions against Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office. It is said to be considering reporting Cho Tae-yong, director of the National Intelligence Service, to the police on charges of insurrection and abuse of power.
The list of those subject to investigation by the permanent special counsel includes Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su and Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been arrested and is being held in a detention center. Other military officers are expected to receive special counsel investigations too.
If ministers and high-ranking officers in charge of national defense and public security are investigated or impeached, or choose to resign, it will become difficult to manage the government.
To make matters worse, the National Assembly passed next year's national budget of 673.3 trillion won ($471.5 billion), a version that includes cuts by the Democratic Party. The revised budget is 4.1 trillion won less than the government’s initial proposal. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, proposed the creation of a meeting involving the ruling People Power Party and the government to deal with economic issues, while his own party railroaded the budget. This is contradictory. It is questionable whether he is sincere about resolving the country's economic problems.
The scenarios the main opposition party most likely wants to see are either Yoon's early resignation or impeachment before the final ruling is made on Lee’s election law violation. The party seems nervous that the issue of Yoon's presidential term will be solved in a way it doesn’t expect. Impeachment, special counsel probes and unilateral budget cuts hinder the stable management of state affairs. If the party goes ahead with excessive offensives that disrupt the operation of government and incite anxiety, the people may turn their backs.
