The opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to impeach Interior Minister Lee Sang-min last week over last year’s Itaewon crowd crush disaster, marking the first impeachment of a Cabinet official.

On Wednesday, the votes of 179 lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and two minor opposition parties — the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party — passed the minimum threshold needed to introduce the impeachment motion to hold Lee accountable for what critics call the government’s bungled response to the crowd crush disaster that led to the deaths of 159 people.