Yoon's office slams interior minister's impeachment as 'shame' in parliamentary history
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a meeting on integrated defense at Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office, in Seoul, Feb. 8. Yonhap
The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday slammed the National Assembly's passage of an impeachment motion against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, calling it a "shame" in parliamentary history.
The presidential office issued the statement shortly after the opposition-controlled Assembly voted 179-109 to impeach Lee over the government's allegedly bungled response to the Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd crush that killed 159 people.
"It's an abandonment of parliamentarism," it said. "It will go down in parliamentary history as a shame."
Lee is the first Cabinet member to be impeached by the National Assembly.
The government and ruling party have maintained Lee did not violate the law or Constitution in his response to the crowd crush to warrant impeachment. (Yonhap)
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min attends the annual central integrated defense council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Feb. 8. Yonhap