South Korea opposition says it will vote to impeach acting President Han By Reuters

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s main opposition party said it would introduce a bill to impeach incumbent Han Dak-soo on Thursday and hold a vote on Friday, a move that could deepen the country’s constitutional crisis sparked by a brief martial law. .

The opposition Democratic Party had threatened to impeach Han if he did not immediately appoint three judges to fill the vacant positions on the Constitutional Court. Parliament voted in favor of the three nominees on Thursday, but they have yet to be formally appointed by Han.

The court is investigating the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol over his December 3 declaration of martial law.

“It has become clear that Prime Minister and Acting President Han Dak-su does not have the qualifications or will to uphold the Constitution,” Democratic Party leader Park Chan-dae said in a statement.

The bill was introduced to parliament on Thursday and is expected to be voted on within 24 to 72 hours.It cites a number of actions by Han as grounds for his impeachment, including his veto of a special prosecutor’s bill to investigate the first lady’s alleged wrongdoing.

If Han is impeached, the finance minister will take over as acting president. The Democratic Party has a majority in control of parliament, but there is disagreement between the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or two-thirds vote is needed to impeach a sitting president.

Earlier on Thursday, Han said he would not appoint justices until the political parties agreed on the appointments, saying that without political consensus it would harm the constitutional order.

Two of the candidates for the Constitutional Court confirmed on Thursday were nominated by the Democratic Party and one by Han’s ruling People’s Power Party, which the ruling party opposed, saying it did not agree to it.

Han has been under pressure to make the appointments, but political parties have disagreed on whether he has the authority to do so as acting president.

The court is scheduled to hold its first hearing on Friday to decide whether to remove Yun or reinstate him.

Under the constitution, six justices must concur against a ousted president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Yun.

Yun, who was impeached by parliament on Dec. 14 in a vote joined by some members of his center-right party, had not filed legal documents as requested by the court as of Thursday, court spokesman Li Zhan said at a news briefing.

On Wednesday, he did not respond to the latest calls for questioning in a separate criminal case. Investigators issued another summons on Thursday for him to appear on December 29.

Yun’s repeated defiance has drawn criticism and opposition calls for his arrest.

Earlier on Thursday, lawyers for Yun’s former defense minister, who is being investigated on sedition charges over the martial law declaration, said it was intended to raise awareness of abuses of the democratic process by opposition parties.

Kim Yong-hyun was the first of a number of officials to be arrested and is likely to be the first to face charges of being a central figure in President Yun Suk-yeol’s December 3 declaration of emergency martial law.