More PPP lawmakers to defy party boycott and vote on Yoon impeachment

Home > National > Politics

More PPP lawmakers to defy party boycott and vote on Yoon impeachment

Published: 10 Dec. 2024, 15:44 Updated: 10 Dec. 2024, 18:23

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Conservative People Power Party Rep. Kim Sang-wook speaks at a press conference held in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

More conservative People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers indicate they will vote on the impeachment motion, diverging from the party's decision to boycott the secret ballots on Saturday.

PPP Rep. Kim Sang-wook — one of the three lawmakers from his party who voted on Saturday’s impeachment motion — said he believes President Yoon Suk Yeol should be removed from office.

“I will vote yes on the next impeachment motion with deep remorse against the president who plotted the anticonstitutional and antidemocratic martial law,” said Kim, a first-term lawmaker, to the press at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday.

While Kim did vote with the two other PPP lawmakers, Reps. Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Yea-ji, on the night of the impeachment motion on Saturday, he cast a ballot against the motion in line with his party's platform.

The Democratic Party (DP) voted on a motion to impeach Yoon for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, which required 200 ballots to pass. The PPP boycotted the motion en masse by not voting, collapsing the session due to the failure to meet the quorum.

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Sang-wook, center, composes himself before voting on the impeachment motion after returning to the National Assembly chamber following the ruling party's walkout before the vote on Saturday. [YONHAP]

“The declaration of martial law is an inexcusable wrongdoing that directly goes against conservative values,” Kim said Tuesday. “There is no excuse for it. [Yoon’s actions] must be strictly punished to ensure it does not happen again.”

"In fact, I was in favor during the previous vote as well,” Kim told reporters after the press conference. “As you know, the motion was on the verge of being scrapped, and I wanted to send a message to both the ruling and opposition parties, as well as to the public, to overcome factionalism."

Kim also said that many PPP members agreed with him on the impeachment.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the sole member of the People Power Party to remain in the National Assembly chamber forthe motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, waits for the voting to open on Saturday. [YONHAP]

People Power Party Rep. Kim Yea-ji leaves the main chamber of the National Assembly building after completing voting on the impeachment bill against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday. [NEWS1]

“They will come together when the time comes,” said Kim. “While there are no guarantees, there are enough people to push the impeachment motion to passage.”

Kim also said Saturday that he "will vote for impeachment unless measures that satisfy the people appear before the next impeachment motion."

Kim's decision comes on the heels of Monday's PPP emergency meeting, where the party displayed fractured opinions on how to approach the impeachment of Yoon.

PPP Rep. Cho Kyeong-tae answers questions from the press at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Rep. Kim Tae-ho demanded the schedule for Yoon's resignation "be fixed by Saturday."

Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae said that Yoon's resignation "should be done within one month" since the prosecution's investigation into the martial law declaration wraps up around that time. Cho went on to say Tuesday that he would participate in the next impeachment vote, although he did not specify whether he would agree to Yoon's disposal from office.

The PPP also decided Tuesday it would leave it to their lawmakers’ discretion on how to vote on a parliamentary bill to launch a special investigation into Yoon's declaration of martial law.

The party's decision reflects the division within the party on how to move forward with Yoon’s exit process. A task force set up under the party has drafted a plan for Yoon to step down within the first quarter of next year and hold a new presidential election in the second quarter.

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Bae Hyun-jin at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Friday [NEWS1]

PPP Rep. Bae Hyun-jin wrote on Facebook Tuesday that she will also participate in the next impeachment motion.

"I will step into parliament," she told the press at the National Assembly complex the same day. She also said that "it was a huge mistake" by the PPP to boycott the first impeachment vote.

Bae was physically assaulted in January by a 15-year-old teenager with a rock, who claimed to have attacked her because "she was doing a bad job" as a politician.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun heads to a meeting at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The party's decision reflects the division within the party on how to move forward with Yoon’s exit process. A task force set up under the party has drafted a plan for Yoon to step down within the first quarter of next year and hold a new presidential election in the second quarter.

Some PPP lawmakers had different opinions.

Fifth-term lawmaker Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun went on lawyer Bae Seung-hee's YouTube channel on Sunday and said, "People still voted for me a year after I disagreed with the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye."

"The people still all cast ballots for me after I ran for office without a party association," said Rep. Yoon.

Rep. Yoon was formerly married to Chun Hyo-sun, the daughter of late President Chun Doo Hwan, who was responsible for the 12.12 coup d'état and the May 18 Gwangju Massacre.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]