MOTION TO DISMISS INTERIOR MINISTER PASSED

[Anchor Lead]

The National Assembly has passed a motion pushed by the main opposition Democratic Party calling for the dismissal of Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min over the deadly Itaewon tragedy. This is the 5th time since the June Democratic movement in 1987 a dismissal motion has been passed by the legislature against the interior ministry, and 2nd since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration took office following a move against Foreign Minister Park Jin. The ruling People Power Party immediately denounced the DP's motion and walked out in protest, and the presidential office said it has no official position about the motion.

[Pkg]

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-pyo(Nat’l Assembly Speaker) : "he motion has passed."

A motion to dismiss Interior Minister Lee Sang-min was approved at the National Assembly's plenary meeting. After the members of the ruling party walked out in protest, 182 members of the Democratic Party and Justice Party voted for the motion. The opposition party emphasized that the minister must be held politically and morally accountable for the Itaewon disaster that left 158 people dead. The DP then urged President Yoon Suk-yeol to accept the motion.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "Given the gravity of the issue, the president wouldn't be able to again reject parliament's authority and duty guaranteed by the Constitution. He should not reject it."

The ruling People Power Party denounced the DP for retaliating against the presidential election result to hinder the government and the ruling party. It added the DP is trying to turn attention away from the corruption probe into DP leader Lee Jae-myung.

[Soundbite] Chung Jin-suk(PPP Emergency Committee chief) : "I've never seen such tyranny by the main opposition party. I am mortified to be in the same parliamentary building with such Democratic Party."

The presidential office said it has no official position about the motion. However, a presidential official said President Yoon has been emphasizing that finding out the truth has priority since early on in the accident. The official added that the president has been asking for detailed disclosure of 112 report calls for this purpose, suggesting the president is opposed to the dismissal motion. When parliament voted for the motion to dismiss Foreign Minister Park Jin in September, Yoon had officially announced his rejection of the motion just a day after the vote. The DP warned it will conduct a government inspection and table an impeachment bill if the president does not accept the motion, suggesting that the clash over Minister Lee's future would not be solved easily.