Parliament in South Korea has passed a motion calling for the expulsion of the interior minister in light of the government’s response to the Itaewon tragedy.
Lee Sang-min is under increasing pressure to resign following the October 29 event in which 156 people were killed and 152 others were injured.
Sunday, the opposition-controlled assembly approved the motion.
However, it is widely anticipated that President Yoon Suk-yeol will reject requests for his minister’s resignation.
Yonhap News Agency reported that the Democratic Party has threatened to impeach the minister if the president rejects the proposal.
The Interior Ministry handles South Korea’s police, whose response to the event in Itaewon, a prominent nightlife zone in Seoul with tiny streets and lanes lined with clubs, has been criticized.
The crash occurred as masses came to freely celebrate Halloween for the first time since the beginning of Covid.
The country’s police chief, Yoon Hee-Keun, stated that the emergency response was “inadequate” and vowed a thorough inquiry into the incident.
Additionally, Lee Sang-min apologized in the National Assembly, stating: “As a father of a boy and a daughter, I find it terrible… It is impossible to articulate how unreal this scenario is, and it is challenging to accept it.”
