President's men demand Park step down

Opposition to draw up joint motion for impeachment Tuesday

By Jun Ji-hye

A group of loyalists to President Park Geun-hye agreed Monday to ask her to resign "honorably" to take responsibility for the political scandal involving her and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.

The agreement comes as opposition parties are accelerating their efforts to draw up a joint motion to impeach Park, and some members of the ruling Saenuri Party have vowed to join forces with them to pass it.

After meeting with second-term lawmakers who are loyal to Park at the National Assembly, Suh Chung-won, an eight-term lawmaker who has virtually led the pro-Park faction, told reporters, "The lawmakers shared the need of asking Park to step down in an orderly manner."

The participants included Reps. Kim Myung-yeon and Hong Chul-ho.

Ahead of the meeting, Suh held a separate luncheon meeting with other pro-Park figures including Reps. Choi Kyung-hwan and Yoon Sang-hyun, during which they also discussed Park's honorable resignation.

The loyalists, who have been a shoulder for Park to lean on, apparently assessed that a dishonorable resignation of the President is unavoidable now, given that the possible approval of the motion leads to an immediate suspension of her performing her duties.

The agreement was made a day after former National Assembly speakers and other elderly politicians also called on Park to announce her decision to step down at the earliest possible date and actually leave office by April at the latest.

A source said, "The Park loyalists apparently agreed that a proposal made by the former Assembly speakers would be an optimal option for now."

The three opposition parties began negotiations the same day to draw up a joint impeachment motion today and put it to a vote early next month.

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the People's Party have created respective drafts of the impeachment motion. Based on the drafts, the parties, together with the Justice Party, are working to draw up a joint motion.

Officials said the parties want to put the motion to a vote possibly on Dec. 2, but Dec. 9 could be an alternative depending on the cooperation from members of the ruling party.

Officials noted that their drafts include Park's alleged bribery in addition to other charges against her that have been uncovered through the prosecution's ongoing investigation, such as abuse of authority.

However, there is a possibility the bribery charges could be excluded from the motion, out of concern it would take too long for the Constitutional Court to review it if they were included. The concerns come as such charges were not included in the prosecution's indictment of Choi.

BREAKINGPark to deliver national address at 2:30 p.m.

2016-11-29 13:01 | National

Once the parties draw up the motion, they are also planning to confirm the dates of submission and voting.

Rep. Keum Tae-sup, a lawyer-turned-lawmaker who heads the MPK's impeachment preparation committee, told reporters, "We completed our draft over the weekend. Park's charges of bribing a third person were also included."

People's Party spokesman Son Kum-ju also told reporters that his party decided to include bribery charges involving SK and Lotte groups, adding allegations involving Samsung Group and the National Pension Service (NPS) would not be included.

There have been suspicions that SK and Lotte illegally lobbied the Park administration this year to win back the duty free store licenses they lost last year.

The prosecution has also been looking into suspicions the President pressured the NPS to back the merger of Samsung C&T Corporation and Cheil Industries last year in return for Samsung's financial support for Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra. The NPS holds shares in both companies.

The companies allegedly raised money for the Mir and K-Sports foundations that are linked to President Park and Choi, which investigators believe served as a slush fund for the President's inner circle.

Prosecutors raided the offices of Lotte and SK, along with those of Samsung and the NPS, as part of their investigation.

The opposition parties included bribery in their motion drafts apparently because the prosecutors stated such a charge in their search and seizure warrants, although they didn't in the indictment for Choi.

Officials said the joint motion will be drawn up after consultation with legal experts.

"The People's Party believes Dec. 2 will be the optimal date to conduct the vote," said interim leader and floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won.

DPK floor leader Woo Sang-ho said his party also wants to handle the motion at the earliest possible date, but it could be put to a vote on Dec. 9 if more time is needed for the review.

Under the law, more than two-thirds of sitting lawmakers must vote in favor of the impeachment motion to pass it. This means at least 200 votes are needed, but the three opposition parties hold only 165 seats. Even if seven independent lawmakers join them, at least 28 votes from the Saenuri Party are necessary, meaning the cooperation of the governing party is essential.

If the impeachment proposal is passed by the Assembly, the Constitutional Court needs to deliberate it for up to six months.

The MPK and the People's Party are also narrowing down their search for two candidates for an independent counsel post to investigate the high-profile scandal. The parties plan to recommend the two to the President today. Park then has to choose one and appoint him or her within three days.

An Assembly audit is also scheduled to start Nov. 30 to conduct hearings and inspections into relevant organizations, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Opposition lawmakers have called on the government and the ruling party to fully cooperate in selecting witnesses for the hearings.