Seoul: South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said on Sunday, December 8, that it would be a “blatant violation of the Constitution” should the Prime Minister and ruling party jointly exercise presidential power.
Woo’s remarks came just hours after Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon vowed to minimise the chaos through an orderly early departure of the President, Yonhap news agency reported.
“The transfer of presidential power comes from the people, and such a process should abide by the Constitution and the principle of popular sovereignty,” Woo said in an emergency press conference at the National Assembly, denouncing the joint press briefing as being “arrogant.”
“Impeachment is the sole legal process to suspend the president’s duty, and the Constitution specifies the process in the event the President cannot carry out his role,” Woo said.
He noted how a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over imposing martial law was scrapped Saturday. All but three ruling party lawmakers boycotted the vote, resulting in a lack of quorum.
The Assembly Speaker said he had expressed his thoughts on the issue in phone talks with the Prime Minister and rejected Han’s request for a meeting.
The Assembly Speaker also proposed talks between the ruling party and the main opposition to discuss the immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s power and resolve the chaos sparked by Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law last week.
Interior minister resigns amid turmoil
South Korean Interior Minister Lee Sang-min quit his position on Sunday, amid political turmoil sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law declaration last week.
Lee, one of Yoon’s closest aides, announced his resignation in a statement a day after the main opposition party proposed an impeachment motion against Lee, with the vote scheduled for Tuesday, reports Yonhap news agency.
In a parliamentary committee session following the lifting of martial law, Lee appeared to defend Yoon, saying the president carried out martial law while abiding by the constitutional process and law.
In February last year, Lee was suspended from his job after the main opposition-controlled National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against him for the crowd crush in the 2022 Halloween celebrations in Seoul’s Itaewon district, which killed 159 people.
In July last year, the Constitutional Court unanimously rejected the motion, immediately reinstating him as minister.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Parameswaran Valeri | 
