PPP urges new Democratic Party chief to drop impeachment push, calls on Lee to face trial

The People Power Party on Tuesday urged Kim Min-seok, the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to abandon two pledges he made during the party leadership race: the impeachment of Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae and the withdrawal of the indictment against President Lee Jae Myung.

Kim Seung-su, the PPP's floor operations chief deputy, opened a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly on Tuesday by declaring that "the Democratic Party's drawn-out leadership convention is finally over" and that "President Lee Jae Myung's operation to seize control of the Democratic Party has failed."

He added that although President Lee had openly backed Kim Min-seok's campaign, the new leader had struggled to win by razor-thin margins outside South Jeolla Province. "Had the president not targeted the Honam heartland with a semiconductor cluster announcement timed precisely to the South Jeolla convention schedule, the outcome could well have gone the other way," Kim said.

Kim went on to criticize President Lee over his ongoing trials. "The harder he struggles to escape the judgment of the law, the faster public judgment will close in," he said, urging the ruling party to show the public a posture of deference to popular sentiment.

Kim also demanded a clear answer from President Lee on constitutional reform, which has become a prominent topic of debate. "Is it really so hard to say just one thing: no second term, I will stand trial?" he said. "If the president cannot give the public confidence that his term ends in five years, the People Power Party cannot engage in any constitutional reform discussions whatsoever."

He then said that before any constitutional revision could be discussed, the current constitution must first be properly upheld. Article 84 — which shields a sitting president from criminal prosecution — was being misused to suspend five ongoing trials against President Lee that had already been indicted and under way before he took office, Kim said.

Kim stressed that the resumption of those trials was a precondition for any constitutional reform talks. "Hollow words about 'no second term' will not be enough to win back public trust," he said, calling on President Lee to make a six-word declaration: "I will stand trial."

Kim also criticized the Lee administration over the abrupt dismissal of Yeo Han-koo, the trade minister, saying the move came last week while the United States was pressuring South Korea to accelerate its investment commitments to the US or face higher tariffs. "Cheong Wa Dae has not even disclosed the reason for the dismissal," he said.

The PPP also renewed its call for the removal of presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom. Kim Seung-su said Kim Yong-beom had led the introduction of leveraged exchange-traded funds, triggering turmoil in the stock market, and had presided over a surge in Greater Seoul apartment prices and chaos in the jeonse and monthly rent market — yet remained in his post despite widespread public anger and calls to resign. "Cabinet members and presidential office officials who are causing public anxiety and hardship through incompetence and policy failures must be replaced without delay," he added.