South Korea's opposition-dominated National Assembly on Friday voted to impeach acting President Han Deok-soo, despite fierce protests from ruling party members, over the impeachment of President Yun Seok-Yeol, who was precipitated by his stunning imposition of martial law and subsequent impeachment. The country's political crisis became even more serious.
Han's impeachment means that he will be stripped of his presidential powers and duties until the Constitutional Court makes a decision on whether he should be removed from office or reinstated. The court is already considering whether to uphold Yoon's earlier impeachment. The impeachment of two of the country's top officials has exacerbated political turmoil, deepened economic uncertainty and tarnished its international image.
The unicameral National Assembly passed the motion to impeach Han with a vote of 192-0. Lawmakers from the ruling People's Power Party boycotted the vote and surrounded the podium where Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik was sitting, shouting that the vote was “invalid” and demanding his resignation. No violence or injuries were reported.
After Wu announced that a simple majority of 300 MPs would be needed to pass the impeachment bill against Han, rather than a two-thirds majority as claimed by the PPP, PPP members responded by calling for a vote on the bill. They protested. Most South Korean government officials can be impeached with a simple majority vote in the National Assembly, but impeaching the president requires two-thirds support. There is no specific law regarding impeachment of acting presidents.
South Korean lawmakers vote in favor of impeaching president over martial law declaration
South Korea's National Assembly has voted to impeach President Han Deok-soo. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap News, Associated Press)
Han said in a statement that he “regrets” his impeachment, but said he would respect the decision of Congress and suspend his office to “avoid further chaos and uncertainty.” He said he was waiting for a “swift and judicious ruling” by the Constitutional Court.
After copies of Han's impeachment documents were delivered to him and the Constitutional Court, Han's powers were officially suspended. Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Choi Sang-mok was appointed.
Late on Friday, Choi's office announced that he had instructed North Korea to step up its military preparations to prevent it from misjudging the situation and launching provocations. He also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey to the United States, Japan, and other key partners that South Korea's foreign policy remains unchanged.
Han, who was appointed prime minister by Yun, became acting president after the conservative Yun was impeached by the National Assembly about two weeks ago over the brief declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Mr. Han quickly joined forces with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, establish an independent inquiry into Mr. Yun's martial law, and push back against opposition-led efforts to legislate pro-farmer bills. There was a collision.
The battle is centered around Han's appointment of three new Constitutional Court judges to Han, in order to restore the full number of nine Constitutional Court judges ahead of the ruling on Yun's impeachment. This is the Democratic Party's demand for approval. This is politically sensitive, as a court decision to remove Yun from office would require support from at least six justices, and adding more justices would likely increase the chances of Yun's removal. That's a problem. Members of Yun's political circles within the ruling party opposed the appointment of the three judges, arguing that Han should not use his presidential power to make appointments while Yun has not yet been formally removed from office. are.
Hann said Thursday he would not appoint judges without bipartisan agreement. Later that day, the Democratic Party, which controls the majority in Congress, introduced a motion to impeach Mr. Han and passed a bill calling for the appointment of three judges.
South Korean investigative agencies are investigating whether Yoon committed treason and abuse of power regarding the marriage ordinance. Yun has repeatedly ignored requests by authorities to appear for face-to-face questioning.
Mr. Yun's defense minister, police chief and several other senior military officials have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police to the National Assembly, sparking a dramatic standoff before lawmakers managed to enter the chamber. It ended with a unanimous resolution to invalidate Yun's ordinance. .
North Korea accuses South Korea of “fascist dictatorship'' after fear of martial law
Members of parliament protest against South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik. (AP Photo/Ahn Young Jun)
South Korean media reported that prosecutors have indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on suspicion of playing a key role in Yoon's rebellion plan and of abusing his authority and obstructing the country. According to reports, Kim, a close ally of Yoon, became the first person to be formally charged over martial law. I called the Seoul Public Prosecutors Office, but there was no response.
Han's impeachment motion accuses him of cooperating with and abetting Yun's declaration of martial law. It also accuses Mr. Han of trying to prevent his restoration of full membership in the Construction Court and of delaying the investigation into Mr. Yun's rebellion allegations by not appointing an independent lawyer.
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South Korea's first martial law in more than 40 years lasted only six hours but caused political turmoil in South Korea, alarmed neighboring countries and disrupted markets. Yun defended his ordinance as an act of governance and said it was a warning to the Democratic Party, which is trying to use its parliamentary majority to thwart his policies.
