SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) — The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) plans to table a motion on Wednesday calling for the sacking of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to hold him responsible for the insufficient response during the deadly stampede that broke out verified last month in the Itaewon district of Seoul.
The PD will present the motion to the National Assembly later in the day with a view to putting it to a vote in Friday’s plenary session, the leader of the party’s parliamentary caucus, Park Hong-geun, told reporters. The PD manages to pass the motion as it controls 169 of the 299 seats in the National Assembly.
If President Yoon Suk-yeol rejects the request, the Democratic Party will file an impeachment motion against the interior minister next week, according to Park. Lee has come under fire for his sloppy department response to the mob that killed at least 158 Halloween revelers on Oct. 29.
Park said the PD was offering the president and home secretary a “last chance” to sort out the problem they are responsible for, first by filing a motion to dismiss.
