Dongducheon citizens protest, demand resignation of City Council Speaker Lim Hyun-sook

Dozens of citizens took to the streets in Dongducheon, South Korea, demanding the resignation of City Council Speaker Lim Hyun-sook. Approximately 70 protesters gathered near Jihang Station, holding signs and chanting slogans like "Resign, Speaker Lim Hyun-sook" and "Judge betrayal politics." The demonstration was organized by local civic groups including the Gyeonggi Northern Peace Citizens' Action and the Democratic Party's Dongducheon-Yangju-Yeoncheon regional committee.

Participants voiced anger over what they described as Lim's betrayal of public trust and political maneuvering. They accused her of switching parties and forming alliances to secure the speaker's position, arguing that voters did not grant their mandate for such actions. The protesters vowed to monitor the council until Lim steps down.

The controversy stems from the city council's leadership election on July 1. With the Democratic Party holding a majority of four seats to the People Power Party's three, the party had initially selected Assemblyman Kim Jae-soo as its candidate for speaker. However, Lim Hyun-sook reportedly left the Democratic Party just before the election and ran as an independent, securing the four votes needed to win the speakership. This move has drawn criticism for allegedly overturning the voter-established council composition by aligning with People Power Party members.

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The votes of the citizens were not given to fill personal ambitions for a position.

Civic groups have been raising concerns for nearly a month. They previously demanded Lim's resignation at the council's opening ceremony on July 3 and called for transparency in closed-door council meetings on July 8. On July 13, they launched a petition for legislation, dubbed the 'Lim Hyun-sook Parricide Politics Prevention Act,' to prevent party switching for public office, and initiated a national petition process on July 15.

Further complicating the situation is a dispute over the speaker's control over assembly members' speeches. Assemblyman Han Wan-soo reportedly felt pressured to moderate his criticism of Lim's actions during a five-minute free speech session on July 15, after understanding that the speaker reviews and approves speech drafts. Although no direct revision requests were made, Han, a first-term assembly member with limited political experience, self-censored his remarks. Lim reportedly approached Han afterward, questioning why a first-term member was addressing issues related to the speaker election, which she felt should be handled by other involved assembly members. The council secretariat stated that neither policy advisors nor the speaker had instructed any revisions or moderation of the speech.

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Where is our sovereignty if the representatives we choose betray our will and abuse power to fill their own positions?