South Korea’s acting president faces an impeachment vote as the Constitutional Court meets on Friday for its first hearing in the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached following a short-lived martial law and stripped of duties. Was suspended.
Efforts to impeach Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, who has been acting president since Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14, threaten to deepen a political crisis over Asia’s fourth-largest economy and one of its most vibrant democracies.
The unexpected martial law decree and sharp political fallout rattled the country and economic markets, destabilizing key allies of the United States and Europe, who want Yun to be a staunch partner in global efforts to counter China, Russia and North Korea. Was seen as.
Plans for a vote to impeach Han were unveiled by the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday, after he refused to immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, saying it was his There will be more than an acting role.
Following Yun’s impeachment, the DP stated that in the interest of national stability it would not impeach Han over his role in the martial law bid.
But the party has since clashed with Yun’s appointed prime minister over bills calling for special prosecutors to investigate judges as well as the president.
On Thursday, Hahn said it was beyond his authority as acting president to appoint judges without bipartisan agreement.
A party spokesman said Han’s refusal was an abuse of power aimed at obstructing Yun’s trial, and added that the prime minister himself was “a prime suspect in the rebellion”.
Yonhap news agency said Kwon Young-se, leader of Yoon’s People Power Party, told reporters that if Han was impeached, it could trigger a new financial crisis.
Yoon cited the large number of impeachment votes and other obstructionist moves by the DP as part of the justification for trying to impose martial law. Later he also said that it is needed to investigate questions related to election security.
The vote to determine Han’s fate comes as the Constitutional Court is set to hold its first hearing in a case that will decide whether Yun is reinstated or permanently removed from office.
The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate or remove Yoon. In the latter scenario, new presidential elections would be held within 60 days.
Yoon is not required to attend the hearing, and it is unclear whether anyone from his legal team will be there.
Unlike South Korea’s previous two impeached presidents, Yoon has so far refused to receive or acknowledge court communications.
On Thursday a court spokesman said the hearing would be held regardless of his team’s participation, but did not comment on whether the president would eventually be forced to answer.
leadership crisis
If Han is impeached, the finance minister would assume the role of acting president.
The Democratic Party has majority control of Parliament, but there is disagreement between the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is required to impeach a acting president.
The South Korean currency weakened to its lowest level since March 2009 in thin holiday trading on Thursday amid the US dollar’s continued rally.
Analysts said there was no prospect of an easing of the negative sentiment generated by political uncertainty this week, while a stronger dollar had not worked in South Korean stocks’ favor.
Yun shocked his country and the world by announcing late on December 3 that he was imposing martial law to end the political deadlock and root out “anti-state forces”.
The army deployed special forces to the National Assembly, the Election Commission and the office of a liberal YouTube commentator.
It also issued orders banning the activity of parliament and political parties, as well as called for government control over the military.
But within hours, 190 lawmakers broke through the cordon and police cordon and voted against Yoon’s order. About six hours after his initial order, the President rescinded the order.
Yun survived the first impeachment vote on December 7 after his party boycotted the resolution, but his conservatives were criticized after defending martial law, questioning the legitimacy of the elections and claiming domestic opponents were aligned with North Korea. The divisions within the camp deepened.
At least 12 people from his party joined the opposition to support impeachment on 14 December and he was suspended from duties.
Yun and senior members of his administration also face criminal investigation for rebellion over his decision to impose martial law.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
