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Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, currently suspended from his duties, attends the 56th central integrated defense council meeting held on Feb. 8 at the Blue House guest house. (Yonhap)

A motion to impeach Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min was approved Wednesday by the National Assembly, just over 100 days after the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood.

Political antagonism is expected to intensify after the first-ever approval of a Cabinet minister impeachment motion in the history of Korea’s constitutional government, which happened amid an outcry from the ruling People Power Party (PPP).

At its main session on Wednesday afternoon, the National Assembly held an anonymous vote on a motion presented by three opposition parties — the Democratic Party, Justice Party, and Basic Income Party — to impeach Lee over his responsibility for the Itaewon tragedy.

The motion passed with 179 out of 293 sitting lawmakers approving it, 109 opposing it, and five invalid votes.

A Cabinet member impeachment motion passes when at least half of sitting National Assembly members (150) approve it. This was the first time in the 75-year history of South Korea’s constitutional government that an impeachment motion for a Cabinet member passed the voting threshold.

While members of the PPP did take part in the vote, they also sent a message of vocal protest, holding up signs in the chamber with messages such as “stop these abusive intimidation tactics by the opposition majority.”

With the delivery of the impeachment resolution to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Constitutional Court, Lee’s authority to carry out duties was suspended.

Article 134-2 of the National Assembly Act states that in cases of the delivery of resolutions for prosecution, “the appointing authorities shall not receive the resignation of the person to be impeached or dismiss him or her.” This means that there is no possibility of Lee choosing to resign or of President Yoon Suk-yeol dismissing him — which will mean an inevitable vacuum as the minister of the interior and safety is unable to perform his duties.

In a position statement shortly after the impeachment motion’s approval, Lee said, “The authority entrusted in the National Assembly by the people must be exercised consistently with its aims.”

“I will cooperate faithfully with the Constitutional Court’s impeachment hearing and do my best to ensure the Ministry of the Interior and Safety returns to normal operations quickly,” he continued.

Lee observed the vote while waiting in the National Assembly’s Cabinet member waiting area to participate in an interpellation session. He left the National Assembly immediately afterward.

The Constitutional Court is now set to begin an impeachment adjudication for Lee. Legally, the court’s adjudication period is set at 180 days.

According to the National Assembly Act, the role of “impeachment committee member” — serving the role of prosecutor in the Constitutional Court’s adjudication process — is to be performed by the chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In this case, the role will be played by PPP lawmaker Kim Do-eup.

Kim told reporters that he would “focus on whether there are actually grounds for concluding that Minister Lee violated the law and decrees as a member of the Republic of Korea’s Cabinet to an extent that warrants impeachment.”

The ruling party responded with fury.

Twenty minutes after the impeachment motion was approved, the presidential office issued an announcement to the press decrying the “abandonment of parliamentarism.”

“This will go down as a shameful episode in the history of parliamentary government,” it declared.

Chung Jin-suk, the interim leader of the PPP, blasted the vote as “anti-constitutional abuse and a destruction of parliamentarism that will leave a black mark on constitutional government history that can never be expunged.”

In contrast, Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun criticized the Yoon administration for “consistently ducking responsibility and failing to present answers before the people.”

“The three opposition parties approved the impeachment motion in accordance with the Constitution and the National Assembly Act,” he asserted.

Family members who lost loved ones in the Itaewon tragedy observed the vote from the Democratic Party floor leader’s offices at the National Assembly. Afterward, they expressed gratitude to the National Assembly for “performing its role.”

“We wouldn’t have had to go through this complex process had the president dismissed Lee Sang-min as minister,” said Lee Jong-cheol, a representative of the bereaved family members’ association.

“The family members will be watching intently to see what judgment the Constitutional Court makes,” he added.

By Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter; Lim Jae-woo, staff reporter; Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

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