President blows off no-confidence motion against minister

The presidential office on Monday brushed off a no-confidence motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min. More important, it said, was a proper investigation into the Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd crush tragedy that killed 158 people.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min heads into the government complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, Monday morning after the Democratic Party-led National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him the previous day. [NEWS1]

The presidential office on Monday brushed off a no-confidence motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.

More important, it said, was a proper investigation into the Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd crush tragedy that killed 158 people.

President Yoon Suk-yeol's stance that "the dismissal [of Lee] is a matter to be judged after the truth is clearly uncovered remains unchanged," said Lee Jae-myoung, the deputy presidential spokesman, in a press briefing.

That signaled that the president isn't planning to sack Lee.

On Sunday, the Democratic Party (DP)-controlled National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against Lee to hold him responsible for the Itaewon tragedy and demand his dismissal. The People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the motion, which was approved by 182 lawmakers out of 183 lawmakers present.

In turn, the PPP withdrew its support for an 18-member special counsel probe into the disaster, with all seven of its lawmakers resigning Sunday, leaving behind nine DP and two independent lawmakers. The special probe had been established by bipartisan consensus on Nov. 24.

Spokesman Lee confirmed that on Monday morning, a notice was sent to the government from the National Assembly to recommend the dismissal of Minister Lee.

He stressed that for the victims of the Itaewon tragedy and their families, "the most important thing is to find out the truth and who holds legal responsibility," a reference to the ongoing parliamentary special counsel probe and a criminal investigation led by police.

"Through this, the scope of the state's legal responsibility will be determined, and this must be clarified so that state compensation can be properly provided to the families," added Lee. "Therefore, the greatest consideration and protection that can be offered to the bereaved families is to uncover the truth through a thorough and strict investigation. Nothing can get ahead of this."

He added that "a comprehensive judgment will be made based on the truth confirmed after the ongoing investigations are concluded."

Interior Minister Lee took part in a closed-door government meeting Sunday after the no-confidence vote.

Lee didn't respond to reporters' questions Monday on the motion or whether the president had talked to him after it.

In turn, the DP on Monday continued to call on the PPP to accept Lee's dismissal.

Park Hong-keun, the DP floor leader, said it is "embarrassing and deplorable to see the governing party refusing to abide by the people's orders."

The PPP has accused the DP of trying to push for the interior minister's dismissal as a ploy to distract from various investigations surrounding DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung and a corruption scandal.

In a statement Monday, Rep. Kim Mi-ae, a PPP spokesperson, accused the DP of passing the motion to "bulletproof" its party leader.

"Their only urgency is inducing a political battle to make a bulletproof Democratic Party, the party of Lee Jae-myung," wrote Kim.

Lee's vice chief of staff, Jeong Jin-sang, was indicted Friday for allegedly taking bribes in the land scandal.

Amid increased friction between the parties, negotiations for next year's budget have ground to a halt.

If the president refuses to accept the interior minister's dismissal, the DP has signaled that it could resort to an impeachment of Lee.

In late September, the DP also passed a motion to dismiss Foreign Minister Park Jin over a series of gaffes that occurred during the president's trips to Britain and the United States earlier that month. Yoon rejected that motion.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]