South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament votes to impeach the interim president

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach interim President Han Duck-soo despite vehement protests from ruling party lawmakers, deepening the political crisis of the country triggered by the amazing President Yoon Suk Yeol. the imposition of martial law and the impeachment that followed.

Han’s dismissal means he will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove or reinstate him. The court is already considering whether to uphold Yoon’s earlier dismissal. The dismissal of the country’s two top officials exacerbates the country’s political turmoil, deepens its economic uncertainty and affects its international image.

The unicameral National Assembly passed the motion to impeach Han by a vote of 192-0. Lawmakers from the ruling People’s Power Party boycotted the vote and gathered at the podium where Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik sat and shouted that the vote was “invalid” and demanded Woo’s resignation. No violence or injuries were reported.

PPP lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on the motion to impeach Han, announcing that its passage required a simple majority in the 300-person assembly, not a two-thirds majority as the PPP had claimed. Most South Korean officials can be removed from office by the National Assembly with a simple majority vote, but impeaching a president needs two-thirds support. There are no specific laws regarding the dismissal of an interim president.

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

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 in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3. Han quickly clashed with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party as he rebuffed opposition-led efforts to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, establish an independent investigation into Yoon’s martial law decree, and legislate law for farmers.

At the center 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 nine-member panel ahead of its decision on Yoon’s dismissal. This is a politically sensitive issue, as a court decision to remove Yoon as president needs the support of at least six justices, and adding more justices will likely increase the prospects of Yoon’s ouster . Yoon’s political allies in the ruling People’s Power Party oppose the appointment of the three judges, saying Han should not exercise his presidential authority to make the appointments, while Yoon has yet to be formally removed from office.

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

South Korean investigative agencies are looking into whether Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power through his marriage law decree. Its defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police officers to the National Assembly, prompting a dramatic deadlock that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and vote unanimously to overturn Yoon’s decree. .

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