
Rival parties clashed after the National Assembly’s impeachment investigation committee effectively withdrew the insurrection charge from the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The People Power Party claimed that the move necessitates a new vote for the impeachment motion against Yoon, as the insurrection charge was initially the primary provision. The opposition has argued the adjustment was a procedural step to streamline the case.
The Assembly's impeachment investigation committee proposed removing the insurrection charge during the second preparatory hearing at the Constitutional Court on Friday.
The committee, comprising 11 lawmakers from three opposition parties and 17 legal representatives, operates without participation from the People Power Party, which has boycotted its activities.
Citing the need to streamline the proceedings, the committee explained that removing the insurrection charge would allow the court to focus on constitutional violations rather than criminal charges related to Yoon’s aborted Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
"The guilt of the insurrection charge shall be judged in criminal court," said the committee's attorney, Kim Jin-han, during the hearing.
In response, Yoon's party claimed that the Constitutional Court should dismiss the ongoing impeachment motion, describing it as a "hastily concocted, fraudulent motion” in a statement released after its general meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on Saturday.
“A new impeachment motion must be drafted, and the revote process must be followed,” read the conservative party's statement.
Rep. Kwon Seong-dong, the party's floor leader, further criticized the modifications, stating that the motion without the insurrection charge lacked sufficient grounds to constitute a legitimate impeachment.
"Modifying the impeachment motion, which was approved by 204 votes in the Assembly, through exclusive discussions among a few lawmakers and lawyers is not appropriate," Kwon said.
However, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea dismissed the possibility of restarting the impeachment process, arguing that prioritizing constitutional over criminal considerations is natural, given the nature of the Constitutional Court.
"The adjustment was intended to treat the motion's justification, which the Assembly passed for the impeachment, as a case of constitutional violations, not criminal violations," Rep. Noh Jong-myeon, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a written statement on Saturday afternoon.
Noh also drew parallels to the 2017 impeachment case of former President Park Geun-hye, noting that the motion at that time was similarly revised to prioritize constitutional over criminal violations.
Other members of the opposition party also highlighted that the original decision to use the act of insurrection as the reason for impeachment has not changed at all.
Meanwhile, the opposition also announced plans to push for a revote on bills to appoint special prosecutors to investigate the insurrection charges against President Yoon and scandals involving his wife, first lady Kim Keon Hee.
The revote on the twin special prosecutor bills, vetoed by acting President Choi Sang-mok, requires the presence of a majority of lawmakers and at least a two-thirds majority of those present to pass. With all 192 members of the opposition bloc expected to support the bills, at least eight defections from the People Power Party would be necessary, making the extent of ruling party dissent a decisive factor once again.
In the initial vote on Dec. 12 to appoint special prosecutors for President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, only five members of the ruling party supported the motion for Yoon, while four backed the motion for Kim.
Later in the week, however, at least 12 ruling party lawmakers voted in favor of Yoon's impeachment on Dec. 14, suggesting that the revote on the special prosecutor bills could potentially pass with sufficient defections from the ruling bloc.