Main opposition set to table dismissal motion for interior minister over Itaewon tragedy

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) is set to table a motion Wednesday calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to hold him accountable for the bungled emergency response to the deadly crowd crush in Seoul last month.

The DP will submit the motion to the National Assembly later in the day to pass it through the plenary session Friday, the party floor leader Park Hong-geun told reporters. The DP has the power to pass the motion, as it holds 169 out of 299 parliamentary seats.

If President Yoon Suk-yeol rejects the demand, the DP will table a stronger impeachment motion against the interior minister next week, according to Park.

Lee has been facing criticism that his ministry botched the response to the crowd surged that killed at least 158 Halloween partygoers in Seoul's Itaewon district on the night of Oct. 29.

Park said the DP is offering the president and the interior minister a "last chance" to solve the problem they are responsible for by putting forward a dismissal motion first.

nyway@yna.co.kr
(END)