By Kim Hyo-jin
More than 30 lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party have expressed support for the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
This means if an impeachment motion is submitted, the motion is highly likely to get National Assembly endorsement.
With all three opposition parties gearing up for Park’s impeachment, an anti-Park group in the ruling Saenuri Party is also showing active support for the move.
In a recent poll, 31 Saenuri Party lawmakers said they will vote for the motion, which is more than the number required from the ruling bloc for its passage.
An impeachment motion will pass with the two-thirds of the votes of the 300-member legislature. Assuming 171 opposition lawmakers and leftist independent lawmakers are all on board, a minimum of 29 votes should come from the ruling party.
A Munhwa Ilbo poll conducted on the 129-member Saenuri Party showed Monday that 31 of 65 respondents supported the impeachment while eight opposed it and 26 abstained.
The number of proponents has a high chance of increasing considering the 26 lawmakers who abstained and the remaining 64 lawmakers who refused to participate in the poll.
Opposition parties are zeroing in on getting the 29 or more votes before beginning the impeachment process.
“Once we secure enough votes, we will submit the impeachment motion,” Rep. Woo Sang-ho, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said during a party meeting. “It can be as early as tomorrow.”
The party spokesman said their lawmakers are set to pressure ruling party members to vote in favor of impeachment.
“They will seek to get votes from the ruling party by approaching them one by one,” floor spokesman Rep. Ki Dong-min said.
Ki noted that the party will bank on the lawmakers’ one-on-one contacts as these are viewed more effective than an official alliance with the anti-Park group.
The ruling party lawmakers who are not affiliated with the President have formed an intra-party group, tentatively called the “emergency situation committee,” amid the corruption scandal involving the President, and have demanded her and the pro-Park party leadership resign.
Of 35 lawmakers, 32 agreed Sunday to begin the impeachment process, according to Rep. Hwang Young-cheul.
Some remained cautious, saying it is too early to be confident about the passage of the motion.
“It might still be difficult for the Saenuri lawmakers to vote in favor of impeaching the President who belongs to their party,” DPK’s vice floor leader Rep. Park Wan-joo said.
“Right now, the only certain votes are three ― from former Saenuri leader Kim Moo-sung, and from anti-Park lawmakers Hwang Young-cheul and Kim Yong-tae.”
Rep. Kim Kyung-jin of the minor opposition People’s Party agreed, saying, “We should obtain a guarantee of at least 35 votes before considering those who might bolt from the opposition bloc.”
If the motion is passed with a minimum of 200 votes in favor of impeachment, the case will be deliberated by the Constitutional Court. The court has to make a final decision within 180 days before a conviction can be confirmed if six of its nine justices agree.
As two justices are scheduled to retire early next year, if the new appointments are not made within that time, the case will be reviewed by seven justices but still requires the support from six of them for confirmation.
After the conviction of President Park, the presidential election should be held within 60 days.