South Korea's main opposition party announced on Thursday that it would introduce a bill to impeach acting President Han Deok-soo and vote on it on Friday, further deepening the country's constitutional crisis caused by a brief period of martial law. There is a possibility that
The opposition Democratic Party had threatened to impeach Mr. Han unless he immediately appointed three judges to fill the vacancies on the Constitutional Court.
Parliament voted in favor of the three candidates on Thursday, but they have not yet been formally appointed by Mr. Han.
The court is considering the impeachment of President Yun Seok-Yeol over his decision to declare martial law on December 3.
“It has become clear that Prime Minister and Acting President Han Do-soo has neither the qualifications nor the will to protect the Constitution,'' Park Chan-dae, House Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a statement.
If Han is impeached, the finance minister will become acting president.
Democrats hold a majority in Congress, but there is disagreement between the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is needed to impeach an acting president.
Han said earlier Thursday that he would not appoint judges until political parties reach an agreement on the appointments, as appointing judges without political agreement undermines the constitutional order.
Two of the Constitutional Court appointees scheduled to vote on Thursday were nominated by the Democratic Party and one by Han's ruling People's Power Party.
The ruling party objected, saying it did not agree to the collapse.
Mr. Han is under pressure to make the appointment, but political parties are divided over whether he has the authority to serve as president.
The court is scheduled to hold an initial hearing on Friday to decide whether to dismiss or reinstate Yoon.
Under the constitution, six justices must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the sitting justices must vote unanimously to remove Yun from office.
The court has stated that it can deliberate cases even if the full bench is not present.
Yun was impeached by Congress on Dec. 14 in a vote that included some centre-right lawmakers, but as of Thursday he had not submitted the legal documents requested by the court, a court spokesperson said. Li Jiang said at a press conference.
He did not respond Wednesday to the latest subpoena for questioning in a separate criminal investigation.
Yun's repeated defiance has sparked criticism from opposition parties and calls for his arrest.
