South Korea’s National Assembly passed a motion on Sunday to resign Interior and Security Minister Lee Sang Min over the government’s failed response to the Itaewon Halloween disaster that killed 158 people .
The vote had 182 votes in favor and one vote was declared invalid, while 150 votes were needed to pass. However, members of the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) left the room before the voting process began.
According to Yonhap, the motion was tabled by the Democratic Party (PD) on Thursday and submitted to the House 72 hours later, as required by the rules of the National Assembly, where the opposition has greater weight.
However, President Yoon Suk Yeol may reject the motion, which is considered likely by local media, although the PD has threatened to oust the minister if he rejects it.
This is the second motion passed by the General Assembly to dismiss a member of Yoon’s cabinet. In September, the same party filed an impeachment motion against Foreign Minister Park Jin over a dispute over the president’s travels to the UK and the US, which was rejected by Yoon.
Sources at the presidential office told Yonhap on Sunday that the cabinet has “no position” in response to passing the motion, which was interpreted as rejecting it.
Yoon maintains his position that the motion goes against the government’s “ongoing efforts to get to the bottom of the matter,” referring to the Itaewon disaster.
It usually takes a day for the Assembly’s decision to reach the president’s desk, so Yoon is expected to announce on Monday that he rejects the minister’s resignation after receiving official notice.
Tragedy struck as a crowd gathered on the night of Oct. 29 to celebrate the first Halloween party since the pandemic, which took place in Seoul’s cosmopolitan Itaewon district.
About 100,000 people, mostly young people dressed for Halloween, gathered at Itaewon, a strip of bars and clubs in a labyrinth of steep, narrow alleys off a main road in Seoul.
According to authorities, people were crushed to death after a large crowd began advancing in a narrow alley near the Hamilton Hotel. Authorities point to more than 150 deaths.
Source: DN
