South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo impeached by opposition lawmakers

Seoul, South Korea – South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo despite vehement protests from ruling party lawmakers, further deepening the country’s political crisis triggered by the stunning by President Yoon Suk Yeol. imposition of martial law i consequent dismissal.

Han’s impeachment means he will be removed from the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to impeach or reinstate him. The court is already reviewing whether to uphold Yoon’s earlier impeachment. The dismissals of the country’s two top officials worsen its political turmoil, deepen its economic uncertainty and damage its international image.

The unicameral National Assembly approved Han’s impeachment motion by a vote of 192 to 0. Lawmakers from the ruling People’s Power Party boycotted the vote and gathered around the podium where the president sat ‘assembly Woo Won Shik and shouted that the vote was “invalid” and called for Woo’s resignation. There was no violence or injuries.

PPP lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on Han’s impeachment motion after announcing that its approval required a simple majority in the 300-member assembly, not a two-thirds majority as demanded by the PPP . Most South Korean officials can be removed by the National Assembly with a simple majority vote, but removing a president requires two-thirds support. There are no specific laws on the impeachment of a sitting president.

Han’s powers will be officially suspended when copies of his impeachment document are delivered to him and the Constitutional Court. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will take over.

Agence France-Presse notes that PPP leader Kweon Seong-dong said after the vote that Han “must continue to lead state affairs without giving in to the opposition’s approval of the motion to “impeachment”.

But Han said in a statement that he “respects the parliament’s decision” and would wait for the Constitutional Court’s further decision if he upholds it.

Han, who was appointed prime minister by Yoon, became acting president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the National Assembly about two weeks ago for his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. Han quickly clashed with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party as he pushed back opposition-led efforts to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, establish an independent inquiry into Yoon’s martial law decree and legislate projects of law in favor of farmers.

At the heart of the fight is the Democratic Party’s demand that Han approve the assembly’s nominations of three new Constitutional Court judges to restore its full nine-member bench ahead of his decision on Yoon’s impeachment. This is a politically sensitive issue because a court decision to remove Yoon as president needs the support of at least six justices, and adding more justices will likely increase Yoon’s impeachment prospects. Yoon’s political allies in the ruling People’s Power Party oppose the appointment of the three judges, saying Han should not exercise presidential authority to make the appointments while Yoon has not yet been formally removed from office.

On Thursday, Han said he would not appoint the justices without bipartisan consent. The Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the assembly, filed an impeachment motion against Han and passed bills calling for the appointment of three judges.

South Korean investigative agencies are investigating whether Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power with his marriage law decree. Its defense minister, its police chief and several other high-ranking military commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police officers to the National Assembly, which led to a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers they managed to enter the chamber and voted unanimously to overturn Yoon’s decree. .