Impeachment vote on PM possible

The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Thursday the National Assembly can impeach acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn if he refuses to extend the mandate of the independent counsel looking into the presidential corruption scandal.

Rep. Woo Sang-ho claimed a refusal by Hwang constitutes abuse of power and a violation of the Independent Counsel Law.

“It is not that acting President Hwang was given discretionary authority. He is supposed to approve the extension of the investigation when it is not satisfactorily finished,” Woo said during a radio interview with CBS.

“If he refuses, it becomes a violation of existing law and abuse of power. It makes legal grounds for the National Assembly to be able to seek impeachment.”

The remarks came as opposition parties are ramping up pressure on Hwang to approve the extension of the investigation into the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil by 30 days.

The mandate for the independent counsel team which launched its 70-day probe Dec. 21 is scheduled to expire Feb. 28.

Hwang has remained noncommittal since the team requested to extend its period last Thursday, feeding speculation that he will eventually decline it in line with the ruling Liberty Korea Party’s stance.

The Independent Counsel Law stipulates that the counsel can extend its investigation one time for 30 days with approval by the President if the investigation is not completed or if it is difficult to decide yet whether to indict suspects.

Opposition parties have sought to take a detour by revising the current law, only to fail.

While the LKP remains adamant in its opposition, the four opposition parties — the DPK, the People’s Party, the Bareun Party, and the Justice Party — have pressured National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, originally from the DPK, to table a revision bill to the law for a vote in a plenary session.

They made a final push during a closed-door meeting between leaders of the rival parties and the speaker Thursday morning, a few hours before the scheduled plenary session. But they failed to persuade Chung who said the rival parties should reach an agreement.

The speaker can exercise his authority to put controversial bills to a vote in the event of a natural disaster, a state emergency or under an agreement reached between rival parties, according to the National Assembly Act.

“Some insist that having a president who is suspended from office is a state of emergency. But it is unclear if the situation is applied to the requirement,” Chung said in a media interview Wednesday.

“The matter is left in the hands of acting President Hwang. He needs to approve the extension considering the Independent Counsel Law that supports a sufficient investigation period.”

Speculation is looming that the counsel team’s mandate will expire as scheduled without Hwang’s approval. Hwang, noted as a possible LKP presidential candidate, appears to be following the party’s stance, political commentators say.

The team is likely to wrap up its probe by indicting Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong who was arrested on bribery allegations last week.