The Constitutional Court of South Korea has unanimously voted to reject the impeachment of interior minister Lee Sang-min. The impeachment motion was initiated by the National Assembly, primarily controlled by the opposition Democratic Party, in the aftermath of last year’s crowd-crush incident in Itaewon that resulted in 159 fatalities. This ruling was issued 167 days after the impeachment motion was passed and 269 days after the crowd-crush incident. The key issues considered by the court were whether Lee had adequately executed his duties concerning public safety to prevent the tragedy and whether the government’s response was appropriate. 

The justices noted