Parliament passes resolution seeking expulsion of opposition lawmaker over controversial remarks

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to demand the expulsion of Rep. Kim Tae-kyu over his remarks denying that former President Chun Doo-hwan had committed an "insurrection."

The resolution passed with 166 votes in favor at a parliamentary plenary session, with lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) refusing to take part in the vote.

Kim came under fire last month after he said in a YouTube interview that he did not consider either Chun or former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law in December 2024, to have committed insurrection.

Chun was sentenced to death in 1996, later reduced to life imprisonment, on charges that included insurrection for his roles in a 1979 coup and the military's violent suppression of the Gwangju democratization movement in May 1980.

The resolution itself cannot expel Kim. A separate motion must be approved by at least two-thirds of all sitting lawmakers at a parliamentary plenary session.

At the plenary session, the National Assembly also passed a resolution to establish a special committee aimed at promoting regional growth to support the government's "three mega projects" initiative centered on semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), mostly in the country's southern region.

The resolution passed in a 145-10 vote, with eight abstentions and most PPP lawmakers boycotting the vote.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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