South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach the acting President, Han Duck-soo.
This came less than two weeks after suspending President Yoon Suk Yeol’s powers over his short-lived declaration of martial law, plunging the country deeper into a political crisis that has caused policy deadlock and damaged its international reputation.
In a vote held on Friday, December 27, 2024, the national assembly approved an impeachment motion introduced the day prior by the main opposition party by a 192-0 vote.
The chamber has 300 MPs, but members of the ruling People Power party (PPP) boycotted Friday’s vote.
Han took over as President after his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024.
The move triggered six hours of chaos that, for many older South Koreans, brought back memories of the country’s bloody transition from military rule to democracy in the 1980s.
The main opposition Democratic party – which has a majority in the national assembly – targeted Han after accusing him of participating in Yoon’s botched imposition of martial law, which ended when Members of Parliament forced their way into the parliament building to overturn Yoon’s decree.
Han angered opposition MPs this week when he refused to immediately appoint three justices to fill vacancies at the constitutional court, which will decide whether or not to approve the impeachment vote against Yoon.
Han said that appointing justices would exceed his powers as acting President.
In response, the Democrat party leader, Lee Jae-myung, accused Han of “acting for insurrection.”
According to him, the only way to normalise the country is “to swiftly root out all the insurrection forces,” adding that his party was acting on behalf of the public to “eradicate” politicians who had put South Korea – Asia’s fourth-biggest economy – at risk.
Polls indicate that South Koreans, who have demonstrated against Yoon in their tens of thousands, support his removal over the martial law fiasco.
The chaotic scenes witnessed in the national assembly were repeated on Friday, when PPP lawmakers gathered around the assembly’s speaker, the opposition MP Woo Won-shik, to noisily denounce the vote against Han as invalid and call for Woo’s resignation.
Han said in a statement after the vote that he would step aside to avoid more chaos and await the constitutional court’s ruling on his impeachment.
Friday’s vote means South Korea must now reach further down the political pecking order for a leader.
By law, the Finance Minister, Choi Sang-mok, will become interim President.
Choi had pleaded with opposition lawmakers not to go ahead with the motion. “An impeachment motion against the acting authority is no different from an impeachment motion against the entire cabinet,” he told a news conference with other cabinet members earlier on Friday.
“Our economy and people’s livelihoods, which are walking on thin ice in a national emergency, cannot bear the expansion of political uncertainty surrounding the acting authority.”
Choi Sang-mok
Constitutional Court Holds First Hearing On Yoon’s Impeachment
Meanwhile, the constitutional court held its first hearing earlier on Friday, in a case reviewing whether to overturn Yoon’s impeachment and reinstate him, or remove him permanently from office.
Police also launched a raid on a presidential safe house and collected footage from nearby security cameras as part of their investigation into the martial law declaration.
The nine-member constitutional court has just under 180 days to reach a decision, which must have a two-thirds majority to stand.
If it approves the impeachment against Yoon, South Koreans must elect a new President within 60 days.
The court’s composition is complicating the process, as it is currently short of three justices.
It can vote on the impeachment motion with the six sitting justices, but a single dissenting would be enough to overturn the impeachment vote and reinstate Yoon.
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