S. Korea opposition moves to impeach acting president

South Korea’s opposition has filed an impeachment motion against acting president Han Duck-soo, after he refused to appoint Constitutional Court judges to complete the process of removing his predecessor from office.

South Korea’s opposition said on Thursday it had filed an impeachment motion against acting president Han Duck-soo, after he refused to appoint Constitutional Court judges to complete the process of removing his predecessor from office.

The country was engulfed in a political crisis when President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is currently suspended, declared martial law on December 3.

Mr Yoon was stripped of his duties by parliament on December 14 over the action, and a Constitutional Court ruling up­holding the decision is needed to finish the impeachment process.

But Mr Han has refused to approve the appointments of three judge nominees to fill the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court, thereby holding up the legal procedure to remove Mr Yoon.

As a result, the opposition Democratic Party is pushing to impeach Mr Han too. “We have filed the motion … and will report it to the plenary session today,” MP Park Sung-joon told reporters at the National Assembly.

“We will put it to a vote tomorrow,” he added.

Mr Han’s refusal to appoint the three judges proves he “does not have the will or qualification to uphold the constitution,” the Democratic Party’s floor leader Park Chan-dae told reporters.

If the court were to proceed with the impeachment process without the additional three judges, all six current judges would need to unanimously agree to remove Mr Yoon from office. A single dissenting vote would reinstate Mr Yoon.

If the opposition passes the impeachment motion against Mr Han in Friday’s vote, it would mark the first time democratic South Korea has impeached an acting president.

AFP