Kim Jae-seop "Will Impeach Yoon"... People Power Party's Approval Votes Increase to 5 [Summary]

Following Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Ye-ji, Kim Sang-wook, and Cho Kyung-tae, the fifth

Kim Jae-seop "The most orderly resignation is impeachment"

Kim Jae-seop, a member of the People Power Party, announced on the 11th that he would vote in favor of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol. Following Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Ye-ji, Kim Sang-wook, and Cho Kyung-tae, he is the fifth defector within the ruling party. The requirement for passing the impeachment motion is the approval of at least two-thirds of the total members (at least 200 out of 300). With 192 members from the opposition and five approval votes from the ruling party, including Kim, only three more approvals from the ruling party are needed for the impeachment motion to pass.

Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "On the late night of the 3rd, I climbed over the National Assembly fence, ready to be arrested, to prevent martial law in the main assembly hall. This was because I was determined to protect democracy and constitutional order," adding, "I did not participate in the impeachment. I couldn't be sure of the impeachment that was being rushed in just four days amidst anger and excitement."

Kim stated, "I thought the president also needed time to organize. Order and time are necessary even for resignation. However, the president is refusing to resign," adding, "The argument for resignation, which causes a constitutional vacuum and relies on the goodwill of the president, is no longer valid."

Kim said, "There are also reports that the president is considering the constitutionality of martial law. There is neither order nor resignation here," adding, "Now the most orderly resignation is impeachment. I want to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol. This is the way to establish constitutional order in Korea."

Kim urged, "Furthermore, I urge the People Power Party to support impeachment as a party policy. Our party must resolve what it started. The path of death is the path of life," adding, "We will have to endure harsh times ahead. We may have to cross a sea of impeachment that is bigger and deeper than the river of impeachment we barely crossed. However, I believe in the potential of our party. I believe in the history of our party, which led Korea to become a developed country from the ruins of war."

The second presidential impeachment motion, scheduled for the 14th, will pass if eight members from the People Power Party join the 192 members of the opposition in approval. With Kim's approval added, there are now five members from the ruling party who have publicly announced their intention to vote in favor. Only three more defector votes are needed for the impeachment motion to pass.

However, if the quorum of 200 is not met, the impeachment motion will be discarded as 'vote not established.' So far, six members, including Kim Ye-ji, Kim Sang-wook, Kim Jae-seop, Ahn Cheol-soo, Cho Kyung-tae, and Bae Hyun-jin, have expressed their intention to vote. If two more announce their participation, the vote is expected to be established.

Meanwhile, Kim faced strong public criticism for not participating in the vote on President Yoon's impeachment motion conducted after the martial law situation on the 7th. Especially in his constituency of Seoul Dobong-gap, where Democratic Party support is strong, the backlash from local residents was even more intense.

In his local office, condolence wreaths condemning Kim were delivered, and eggs were thrown. Even a sign with impeachment-supporting phrases and a weapon were placed in front of his home entrance, prompting police to provide personal protection. Kim also made all his SNS posts private due to malicious comments on his family photos.

Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com