South Korean opposition moves to impeach interim president over court appointments for impeachment trial – Mothership.SG

News

For the impeachment to be successful, 151 out of 300 MPs must vote for it.

South Korea’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP), has filed a motion to impeach the country’s interim president and interim leader, Han Duck-soo.

Han, who is part of the ruling People’s Power Party, took over as acting president after President Yoon Suk Yeol was charged on December 14, 2024, after declaring a surprise order for martial law for six hours on December 3rd.

What happens after dismissal?

However, despite his dismissal, Yoon was not removed from his post.

In South Korea, after a successful impeachment vote, the constitutional court has 180 days to rule on whether Yoon should be removed from office or whether to dismiss the charge and restore his powers.

If Yoon is ousted, another presidential election must be held within 60 days.

There are usually nine judges on the Constitutional Court, however, currently only six judges are in office.

This poses a challenge to Yoon’s successful impeachment, as a ruling to remove him from office needs the support of six justices.

Since there are only six of them at the moment, this means that a single voice available would be enough to allow Yoon to stay in power.

And for such a politically important decision, the court would be reluctant to rule without a full bench.

Why does the opposition do this?

The opposition party therefore decided to impeach Han over his refusal to appoint three judges to fill the nine-member bench of the constitutional court.the Korean News Agency reported Here it is.

Judges were appointed by the National Assembly (Singapore’s equivalent of Parliament). Right now, the opposition party has the majority of members in the assembly, not Yoon and Han’s party.

Han also refused to review two opposition-sponsored bills calling for investigations into the declaration of martial law and alleged corruption by First Lady Kim Keon Hee, according to BBC.

DP Party leader Park Chan Dae framed Han’s actions as “prolonging the insurrection, adding that Han is”he is neither qualified nor willing to defend the constitution”.

Why does Han refuse to appoint new judges?

Explaining his refusal to appoint the judges in a national speech on December 26, Han said he would not appoint them until the rival parties “reach a consensus”.

“It is the consistent spirit of the Constitution and our laws that the acting president refrains from exercising the vital and exclusive authority of the president, including appointments to constitutional institutions,” Han said, according to Here it is.

He added that both the ruling and opposition parties must “first reach an agreement” on using his powers as acting president to appoint judges and would “delay” the appointment until both reached an agreement .

“Once the ruling and opposition parties submit an agreed measure, I will immediately appoint the judges of the Constitutional Court.”

The impeachment vote will likely take place on December 27

By law, an impeachment motion must be voted on between 24 and 72 hours after a motion is filed.

The vote to impeach Han is therefore likely to take place during a plenary session on 27 December.

For Han’s impeachment to succeed, 151 of 300 votes must be cast in her favor, it reported BBC.

Related stories

Top image from Yonhap