Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo Thursday rejected growing calls for his resignation over his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal.
“(I) will perform my official duty without any agitation,” Lee told reporters before attending a National Assembly session.
The move came soon after Moon Jae-in, leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, threatened to impeach the country’s second-highest official unless he steps down over the mushrooming bribery scandal.
Lee is accused of accepting 30 million won ($27,000) in cash from a late businessman in 2013, when Lee was running for a parliamentary seat.
Lee has repeatedly denied the accusation and said he would give up his life if there is any evidence that he received the money.
Before his suicide last week, Sung Wan-jong, a former head of a mid-size construction firm, claimed he gave up to several millions of dollars to the prime minister and seven other former and current high-profile politicians, mostly close to President Park Geun-hye.
“If he continues to hold onto his seat, our party will consider presenting a dismissal proposal,” Moon told reporters in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital.
The parliament can initiate an impeachment motion against a prime minister if one-third of the lawmakers endorse it. The impeachment proceedings would be referred to the Constitutional Court if half of the 294-strong National Assembly votes in favor.
So far, no South Korean prime minister has been impeached.
Moon was in Ansan to mourn the victims of last year’s deadly ferry sinking, which left more than 300 people dead. On Thursday, South Korea marks the first anniversary of the ferry disaster.
Touching on the prosecution probe, the justice minister vowed independence and fairness in leading the high-profile investigation.
“The prime minister cannot intervene in the investigation, and I will not be influenced,” Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told the parliamentary meeting. “I will direct the prosecution to look into (the case) fairly, regardless of external conditions.”
Amid the fast-unfolding scandal, Saeunuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung rushed to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae to hold a meeting with President Park Geun-hye, who is set to depart for a four-nation trip to South America later in the day.
The ruling party leader is widely forecast to discuss the bribery scandal with the president in the hastily arranged meeting, possibly to come up with a decision to resolve the situation. (Yonhap)
