South Korean opposition calls for impeachment of interim president

Han Duck-soo is accused of blocking progress in the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, his predecessor, who was impeached after declaring martial law.

The South Korean opposition announced on Thursday (26/12) that it has filed a motion for impeachment against interim president Han Duck-soo, after he refused to appoint Constitutional Court judges to complete the process of dismissing the president. its predecessor.

South Korea entered a serious political crisis in early December when President Yoon Suk Yeol, now out of office, declared martial law, in a maneuver described by the opposition as a self-coup.

Parliament approved Yoon’s impeachment on December 14, but a ruling from the Constitutional Court is required to ratify the decision.

The court, however, is missing, without three judges from the panel of nine. Although it can work with six magistrates, if just one of them votes against dismissal, Yoon would return to office.

The opposition wants Han to approve the appointment of three judges, which he has refused to do so far, indirectly blocking Yoon’s impeachment process.

For this reason, the opposition Democratic Party claims that the interim president should also be removed.

“We have presented the motion,” declared Representative Park Sung-joon at the National Assembly. “We will put it to a vote tomorrow” (Friday).

Han’s refusal “demonstrates that he neither has the will nor the qualifications to defend the Constitution,” said Park Chan-dae, leader of the Democratic Party.

The country’s 75-year-old prime minister and interim president, in turn, defends the need for a bipartisan agreement on appointments.

“The consistent principle enshrined in our Constitution and our laws is to refrain from exercising important exclusive presidential powers, including appointments to constitutional institutions,” Han argued.

If the opposition manages to pass the motion against Han on Friday, it would be the first time that South Korean democracy has removed an interim president.

Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law at the beginning of the month and provoked a political crisis | South Korean Presidential Office/Getty Images

Breach of duties

In the impeachment motion, the opposition accuses Han of violating his duties as interim president.

Opponents cite the president’s refusal to formally appoint judges and enact two special laws to investigate Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law and corruption suspicions involving the ousted president’s wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Han is “intentionally avoiding the special investigation of those involved in the insurrection and has clearly expressed his intention to reject the appointments of three Constitutional Court judges,” the motion states.

If the opposition achieves its objective on Friday, South Korea will have the second removal of a head of state in less than two weeks.

Yoon also faces criminal insurrection charges for his declaration of martial law.

This Thursday, Yoon was summoned for the third time to appear for interrogation, on the 29th, after he rejected a summons for Christmas Day.

Originally published by DW on 12/26/2024