Yoon expected to reject opposition's dismissal motion against PM

All News 14:45 September 19, 2023

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to reject the opposition's dismissal motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo following its expected passage through the National Assembly this week, according to a presidential official Tuesday.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) submitted the motion recommending Han's dismissal to the Assembly on Monday, accusing him of serious incompetence as chief of the Cabinet and holding him responsible for what it called the Yoon administration's failures in areas including the response to Japan's release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the mismanagement of last month's World Scout Jamboree.

The motion is expected to be put to a vote during a plenary session Thursday.

"A dismissal recommendation motion can only be tried by a political party when the legal or political mistakes of a prime minister or Cabinet member are clear," the presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.

"As the term itself suggests, a dismissal recommendation motion is a recommendation to the president," the official said, suggesting Yoon would reject it.

The DP, which holds a majority in parliament, has passed two dismissal motions since the launch of the Yoon administration -- one against Foreign Minister Park Jin and another against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. Both were rejected by the president.

The presidential office sees the DP's move against Han as a political offensive aimed at diverting public attention and boosting party unity ahead of an upcoming parliamentary vote on whether to allow the arrest of DP leader Lee Jae-myung over bribery and other charges.