Seoul: South Korea’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday named five-term lawmaker Kwon Young-se to head its emergency leadership committee tasked with managing the political fallout from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.
Kwon was designated for the role following former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon’s resignation on December 16, just two days after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon over his botched imposition of martial law on December 3.
Acting PPP leader Kweon Seong-dong said the party nominated Kwon based on his experience as a five-term lawmaker and his service in key government roles.
“The new emergency committee has the heavy task of stabilising state affairs and for (fostering) harmony and change within the party,” he said. “(I) have no doubt the new emergency committee chairman candidate will carry out such responsibilities.”
The PPP will officially appoint Kwon after holding further party committee meetings on December 26 and 30, Yonhap news agency reported.
Kwon served as the Yoon administration’s first unification minister before being elected for a fifth term in the National Assembly in the parliamentary elections in April. He also served as South Korea’s Ambassador to Beijing from 2013 to 2015.
Earlier in the day, the South Korean Cabinet skipped a review of two special counsel bills targeting President Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee, defying the main opposition party’s demand to promulgate them the same day.
The bills, which call for special counsel investigations into Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law and various corruption allegations involving Kim, were not taken up during a Cabinet meeting led by acting President Han Duck-soo.
“In order to wisely handle issues where the interpretation of legal principles and political views clash, such as the handling of the special counsel bills and the appointment of justices to the Constitutional Court, the ruling and opposition parties must put their heads together, above anything else,” Han said during the meeting.
“I believe we must start with the ruling and opposition parties debating and negotiating a compromise measure in a way that the majority of the people will understand the special counsel investigations and appointments were handled without the slightest bias in accordance with the Constitution and laws,” he added.
Both bills were passed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly earlier this month, requiring Han to sign them into law or seek parliamentary reconsideration by January 1.
The main opposition Democratic Party demanded Han promulgate the bills on Tuesday, however, threatening to “hold him accountable” if he failed to oblige.
The remark suggested the party would take steps to impeach Han, who has taken over as acting President since Yoon’s impeachment on December 14.
In his acting capacity, Han is also responsible for appointing justices to the Constitutional Court, where the nine-member bench is short of three judges ahead of an upcoming trial on whether to uphold or dismiss Yoon’s impeachment.
(IANS)
