{"id":2199092,"date":"2022-10-05T10:08:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T10:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199092"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:30","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:30","slug":"seouls-diplomacy-left-weakened-after-parliament-votes-against-foreign-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/seouls-diplomacy-left-weakened-after-parliament-votes-against-foreign-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Seoul\u2019s diplomacy left weakened after parliament votes against foreign minister"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea is a presidential republic, but it shares features with parliamentary systems. One such feature is the National Assembly\u2019s right to pass no-confidence motions in regard to cabinet ministers.<\/span><\/p>\n Foreign minister Park Jin was the latest minister subjected to this after President Yoon Suk-yeol committed <\/span>multiple diplomatic blunders<\/span><\/a> during a recent tour abroad, including missing Elizabeth II\u2019s lying in state in London and seemingly calling U.S. lawmakers \u201cbastards\u201d in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n Park didn\u2019t appear to share any direct responsibility for these incidents, but the Democrat-led National Assembly voted for the no-confidence motion anyway. It marks just the seventh time South Korea\u2019s parliament has passed such a motion.<\/span><\/p>\n Soon after, Yoon became just the <\/span>second president<\/span><\/a> to veto such a motion, seemingly keeping Park as his top diplomat for the foreseeable future.<\/span><\/p>\n Here the president seems to have support. Park is a well-respected diplomat with decades of experience, and that surely isn\u2019t canceled out by a single hot-mic moment from the president. Even the left-leaning <\/span>newspapers<\/span><\/a> considered the motion excessive.<\/span><\/p>\n There are a few reasons why the Democratic Party (DP) may have tried to push Park out nonetheless. To start, party leader Lee Jae-myung is currently <\/span>under investigation<\/span><\/a> for alleged bribery and corruption, threatening to derail his political career and the DP\u2019s reputation. Attempting to fire the foreign minister is a convenient distraction from the party\u2019s own controversies.<\/span><\/p>\n Further, getting Park canned may be a strategic appeal to left-wing voters that haven\u2019t fully reenergized after losing a narrow presidential election in March. Some DP politicians like Seo Young-kyo have even <\/span>begun to talk<\/span><\/a> about <\/span>impeaching<\/span><\/a> President Yoon in a similar effort to mobilize the base.<\/span><\/p>\n