▲ The People Power Party's leader, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon (L), speaks with Rep. Lee Man-hee, the party's secretary general, in an emergency general meeting of party member at the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)

rival parties-plenary session

Rival parties in standoff over impeachment motions

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly was set to convene a plenary meeting Thursday, but the likelihood of its opening is unclear amid disagreement between the rival parties over three contentious impeachment motions.

The Democratic Party (DP) has proposed impeachment motions against two prosecutors and Lee Dong-kwan, the chairman of the state broadcasting watchdog, and plans to deal with them at plenary meetings scheduled on Thursday and Monday.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) opposes the impeachment motions and has said it will not consent to the opening of Thursday's meeting because the two sides agreed to convene it only to deal with the government's 2024 budget proposal.

"The DP has discarded bipartisan agreement as if it was an old shoe. This is the worst reckless act in the past 75 years of parliamentary history," said its floor leader, Rep. Yun Jae-ok, in a leadership meeting.

Senior members of the PPP met earlier in the day to discuss countermeasures in the event the opposition tries to railroad the impeachment motions. Exactly what measures it plans to carry out will be decided at an emergency general meeting of party members, Yun said.

The DP's floor leader, Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, has also warned against any illegal acts.

Should the two sides fail to reach an agreement, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo will have to make the final decision on whether to go ahead with the session as planned.

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