‘If Park resigns, next presidents could face similar situation’

‘If Park resigns, next presidents could face similar situation’. November. 07, 2016 07:16. by Chan-Wuk Song song@donga.com.

Chung Jin-seok, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, criticized the opposition parties on Saturday, saying, “A responsible political leader cannot demand the president to step down.” His remarks are targeting at Ahn Cheol-soo, former co-chairman of the People’s Party, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who have demanded President Park Geun-hye resign.

“A president’s resignation gravely destroys legal and political stability of the Republic of Korea,” Chung said in his Facebook post on the day. “If a precedent occurs, most of next presidents will have to step down with Korea’s system of emperor-like president having serious defects.”

Chung also pointed out that if President Park steps down, Mayor Park, South Chungcheong Governor Ahn Hee-jung, Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil, and Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong will not be eligible to run for the presidential election, restricting their suffrage. Chung cited the Civil Servant Election Act, which says civil servants running for the presidential election should resign at least 90 days before the election. If president steps down, a presidential election should take place within 60 days according to the Constitution.

However, this is not accurate. According to Clause 2 of Article 53 under the Election Act, when a civil servant is to run in a by-election, he or she should resign 30 days before the election date. It means that mayors and governors will be allowed to run in a presidential election, which happens due to vacancy of the presidency.