The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) plans to push for a simultaneous vote on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment and the re-vote on the Special Prosecutor Bill targeting First Lady Kim Keon Hee during the National Assembly plenary session on December 7 (KST).

Initially, the DPK considered voting on President Yoon’s impeachment as early as December 6, with the re-vote on the First Lady Special Prosecutor Bill scheduled for December 10.

However, the timing was adjusted to allow an additional day to persuade the ruling party, which has decided against the impeachment, and to prevent a potential ruling party boycott of the session by moving the Special Prosecutor Bill vote forward.

DPK spokesperson Cho Seung-rae announced during a press briefing after the party’s Supreme Council meeting on December 5, “The vote on President Yoon’s impeachment will proceed around 7 PM on December 7.”

Roh Jong-myeon, the DPK’s floor spokesperson, confirmed after a general meeting, “The re-vote on the Special Prosecutor Bill targeting First Lady Kim Keon Hee will also proceed on the 7th alongside the impeachment vote.”

The impeachment motion, which was proposed by 191 lawmakers, including 190 members from six opposition parties and independent lawmaker Kim Jong-min, was reported to the plenary session just after midnight on December 5.

Under parliamentary rules, the impeachment vote must occur between 24 and 72 hours after being reported. Therefore, the voting window is from 12:49 AM on December 6 to 12:48 AM on December 8.

For the impeachment motion to pass, at least two-thirds of all lawmakers (200 out of 300) must vote in favor. With the opposition holding 192 seats, at least eight members of the ruling party must defect.

The decision to set the vote for the evening of December 7 instead of the 6th appears to be a strategic move to maximize time to pressure and persuade the ruling party, which opposes the impeachment.

“The public needs time to reflect on the impeachment motion,” spokesperson Cho said, adding, “Likewise, lawmakers from the People’s Power Party must deliberate whether to align with unconstitutional or illegal actions akin to rebellion or coup attempts, as suggested by Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon.”

Combining the Special Prosecutor Bill re-vote with the impeachment vote is likely a tactic to ensure ruling party lawmakers attend the session.

Unlike the impeachment motion, which requires two-thirds of all members to approve, the Special Prosecutor Bill only needs two-thirds of attending members for passage, provided more than half of all lawmakers are present.

Spokesperson Roh explained, “The People’s Power Party may boycott the session to block the impeachment vote, but we cannot force them to attend. Therefore, we decided to proceed with the re-vote on the Special Prosecutor Bill simultaneously.”

If the ruling party boycotts, the Special Prosecutor Bill could still pass with opposition votes alone. However, to block its passage, the ruling party may be forced to attend, increasing the pressure to participate in the impeachment vote as well.

The opposition also highlighted that a ruling party decision to attend the session for the Special Prosecutor Bill vote but abstain collectively on the impeachment vote would further burden the ruling party politically.

DPK officials intensified their calls for ruling party participation in the impeachment vote.

Spokesperson Cho warned, “Should the ruling party collectively abstain or refuse to participate, it would be unprecedented and self-admitting internal discord, inviting public criticism.”

He added, “As ruling party lawmakers acted courageously to stop martial law through unanimous support for its termination, they must now stand up against President Yoon’s unconstitutional actions. We expect their determination and courage.”

— Yonhap News-