National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee on Friday put to a full-house vote a motion to recommend the dismissal of Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik over the Seoul government’s controversial push for a military pact with Japan.

The main opposition Democratic United Party submitted the motion to the parliament on Tuesday, calling on Kim to take responsibility for the government bypassing the due process of securing public consensus over the deal.

Under the parliamentary law, the motion was to be voted on within 72 hours of its submission, after which it is automatically to be scrapped.

The ruling Saenuri Party opposed the motion, saying that it was part of the DUP’s political offensive ahead of the presidential election in December.

The government came under fire after it was reported to have internally decided to complete the signing of the “General Security of Military Information Agreement and Acquisition” with Tokyo by the end of June, without securing public consent.

Amid controversy, Seoul postponed inking the deal on June 29 when the two sides planned to sign it.

Critics argued that it was not the right time for deepened military cooperation with Japan as resentment among Koreans over the island country’s 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula still runs deep.

Kim Tae-hyo, presidential senior secretary for external strategy, stepped down on July 5 over the deal. The former political science professor, who had spearheaded a series of high-profile security projects, had pushed for the deal.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)