South Korea's ruling Liberty Korea Party on Tuesday rejected the opposition bloc's push to impeach the acting president, calling it a politically motivated move.
"It is a typical political ploy and not even worthy to be reviewed," said Rep. Chung Woo-taik, the party's floor leader.
On Monday, the main opposition Democratic Party and other liberal parties agreed to seek the impeachment of Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn after he disapproved the extension of the mandate of the independent counsel looking into the corruption scandal surrounding the president and her close friend.
Chung said any action to seek Hwang's impeachment violates the Constitution. He pointed out that the acting president only exercised his authority based on the law.
"The three opposition parties are seeking to bring anarchy to South Korea," Chung said.
As the three opposition parties hold 166 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly, pundits said the parties will face no troubles in securing the minimum vote to impeach the prime minister. The conservative Bareun Party, on the other hand, said it will not join in the move to impeach Hwang. (Yonhap)