South Korea: Opposition Democratic Party to Lodge Complaint Against Acting President Choi
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Seoul, Jan 7 (NationPress) The special committee of South Korea's principal opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP), declared on Tuesday that it will initiate a complaint against acting President Choi Sang-mok for alleged negligence in his duties.
Choi has faced criticism from opposition lawmakers for failing to instruct the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to assist investigators in the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
During a press conference held at the National Assembly, the committee condemned Choi for permitting the PSS to obstruct the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) from executing a warrant aimed at detaining Yoon.
"Reports indicate that acting President Choi did not respond when the CIO sought cooperation regarding the arrest of President Yoon," the committee stated.
Furthermore, Choi did not take any measures against Park Chong-jun, the head of the PSS, despite his role in hindering the CIO's attempts to detain Yoon, as per the committee's claims.
The committee also criticized Choi for neglecting to request a recommendation for a special prosecutor, even though the Assembly had passed legislation requiring a permanent special counsel to investigate insurrection allegations against Yoon.
"Acting President Choi has also postponed the appointments of Ma Eun-hyuk, a candidate for Constitutional Court justice nominated by the National Assembly, and Ma Yong-ju, a candidate for the Supreme Court," it added.
The committee urged Choi to adopt a decisive approach in dealing with Yoon's insurrection case, including Yoon's arrest, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Earlier, on January 3, Acting President Choi Sang-mok met with the top US envoy to South Korea and the commander of the US Forces Korea, reaffirming the robust South Korea-US alliance amid the ongoing political unrest.
Choi's meeting with Ambassador Philip Goldberg and General Xavier Brunson occurred less than a week after he took on the interim leadership role.
"In spite of the challenging circumstances, we have consistently upheld our diplomatic and security policies grounded in the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States," Choi stated during the meeting, according to his ministry. Choi previously served as deputy prime minister for economic affairs and finance minister.
"We are advocating for proactive collaborative efforts to preserve our diplomatic accomplishments, which include cooperation between South Korea and the United States, as well as relations among Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo," Choi added.
