South Korean lawmakers impeached the acting president on Friday as the country struggles to recover from political turmoil sparked by his predecessor’s promulgation of a marriage law.
Here’s a look at how the second impeachment of a South Korean head of state in just two weeks played out and what might happen next.
what happened today?
South Korean lawmakers impeached the acting president. All 192 lawmakers who voted in the session cast their votes in favor of removing acting President Han Duk-soo.
Han took on this role on December 14, when President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from office by parliamentary vote following his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
A constitutional court will decide whether Yun’s removal will be permanent.
Opposition lawmakers said they voted to oust Han because he was obstructing the court by refusing to appoint three new judges to the nine-member bench.
Six justices will have to uphold the decision to oust Yoon. Because the bench currently has only six members, he can be reinstated by a vote.
The opposition party’s impeachment motion said Han was “deliberately evading special investigation to investigate those involved in the rebellion”.
He said his actions were “a breach of a public official’s duty to uphold the law”.
what happens next?
Han said he “respects the parliament’s decision”. Like Yoon, he is now awaiting the Constitutional Court’s decision on whether his expulsion will be permanent.
The court has 180 days to give its verdict.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will now become acting president.
Choi said in a statement that “it is extremely important to reduce government turmoil at this time” and called for a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday.
The crisis that ousts Han may reach Choi as well. There will also be pressure from the opposition to accept the appointment of constitutional judges.
If he refuses he could even face his own impeachment – opening a new chapter of absurdity.
Who is Choi Sang-mok?
Choi now has three roles: Acting President, Prime Minister, and Finance Minister of South Korea.
“We have had an acting president before,” said Lee Joon-han, a politics professor at Incheon National University. “But this is the first time we have a choice.”
Lee said that despite Choi’s many roles, it “would not be impossible” for him to play them all. Choi is a tried-and-tested bureaucrat with decades of experience at the Finance Ministry.
At a recent press conference, he pledged to take the economy forward amid political turmoil.
“We are confident that our strong and resilient economic system will ensure rapid stabilization,” he said.
What do lawmakers say?
When National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said only a simple majority in the 300-member parliament was needed to impeach Han, opposition lawmakers cheered.
The opposition won a majority in parliamentary elections in April, meaning he was easily ousted.
Lawmakers from the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) protested in parliament, arguing that a two-thirds majority should be required to remove Han.
The PPP immediately filed an injunction against Wu, saying his “actions are fundamentally invalid” because they violated the Constitution.
What about Yoon?
The Constitutional Court held its first preliminary hearing on the legality of Yoon’s impeachment on Friday, attended by the suspended president’s legal team.
The court said in a statement that the hearing would focus on his decision to declare martial law and mobilize military and police forces to blockade parliament.
Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at the Korea University Institute of Law, predicted that because the court is deliberating on Yoon’s impeachment, it would take longer to make a decision on Han’s impeachment.
“The seriousness of the president’s impeachment, the importance of the office, and the current situation of extreme political turmoil underscore the need to swiftly address this matter,” Kim said.
“The court cannot do two things at once.”
