South Korea’s acting president, Han Duk-su, has been impeached by opposition lawmakers

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach acting president Han Duk-soo despite fierce protests from ruling party lawmakers, deepening the political crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk-yeol’s surprise announcement. imposition of martial law and then impeachment.

Khan’s impeachment means he will be stripped of his presidential powers and duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove or reinstate him. The court is now considering whether to uphold Yoon’s previous impeachment. The impeachment of two of the country’s top officials worsens its political turmoil, deepens its economic uncertainty and hurts its international image.

The unicameral National Assembly passed the motion to impeach Han by a vote of 192-0. Lawmakers from the ruling People’s Power Party boycotted the vote and gathered at the seat of Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, shouting that the vote was “invalid” and demanding Woo’s resignation. There were no reports of violence or injuries.

PPP lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on Han’s impeachment after Woo announced that the PPP claimed it required a simple majority in the 300-member assembly. Most South Korean officials can be impeached by a simple majority vote by the National Assembly, but impeachment of the president requires two-thirds support. There are no specific laws on the impeachment of the acting president.

Han’s powers will be officially suspended after copies of the impeachment document are delivered to him and the Constitutional Court. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will take over.

Agence France-Presse points out that PPP leader Kweon Seong-dong said after the vote that Han “should continue to lead state affairs without being subject to the opposition’s acceptance of the impeachment motion.”

However, Han said in his statement that he “respects the decision of the parliament” and will wait for the Constitutional Court’s further decision on whether the decision will remain in force.

Han, appointed prime minister by Yoon, became acting president after conservative Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly nearly two weeks ago for imposing a short-term martial law on Dec. 3. Han quickly clashed with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, pushing back on opposition-led efforts to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court, set up an independent inquiry into Yoon’s martial law and legalize pro-farmer bills.

At the center of the fighting is the Democratic Party’s demand to approve the nomination of three new Constitutional Court judges to restore the full nine-member bench ahead of the Democratic Party’s decision to impeach Handan Yoon. It is a politically sensitive issue, as a court order to remove Yoon as president needs the support of at least six justices, and the addition of more justices is likely to increase the prospects of Yoon’s ouster. Yoon’s political allies in the ruling People’s Power Party oppose the appointment of the three justices, saying Han should not use his presidential powers to make appointments while Yoon has not yet been formally removed from office.

On Thursday, Han said he would not appoint judges without the consent of the two parties. The Democratic Party, which has a majority in the Assembly, introduced an impeachment motion against Han and passed bills calling for the appointment of three justices.

South Korean investigative authorities are investigating whether Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power with the marriage law decree. His defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of army and police officers to the National Assembly, sparking a dramatic standoff that ended after lawmakers were able to enter the chamber and vote unanimously to overturn Yoon’s decree. .