South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament votes to question appearing president

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s opposition-controlled Nationwide Meeting voted Friday to question appearing President Han Duck-soo regardless of vehement protests by governing social gathering lawmakers, additional deepening the nation’s political disaster set off by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s beautiful imposition of martial legislation and ensuing impeachment.

Han’s impeachment means he can be stripped of the powers and duties of the president till the Constitutional Court docket decides whether or not to dismiss or reinstate him. The courtroom is already reviewing whether or not to uphold Yoon’s earlier impeachment. The impeachments of the nation’s prime two officers worsen its political turmoil, deepen its financial uncertainty and damage its worldwide picture.

The only-chamber Nationwide Meeting handed Han’s impeachment movement with a 192-0 vote. Lawmakers with the governing Folks Energy Social gathering boycotted the vote and gathered across the podium the place meeting Speaker Woo Gained Shik was seated and shouted that the vote was “invalid” and demanded Woo’s resignation. No violence or accidents had been reported.

The PPP lawmakers protested after Woo referred to as for a vote on Han’s impeachment movement after saying its passage required a easy majority within the 300-person meeting, not a two-thirds majority as claimed by the PPP. Most South Korean officers could be impeached by the Nationwide Meeting with a easy majority vote, however a president’s impeachment wants the help of two-thirds. There aren’t any particular legal guidelines on the impeachment of an appearing president.

Han’s powers can be formally suspended when copies of his impeachment doc are delivered to him and the Constitutional Court docket. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, will take over.

Han, who was appointed prime minister by Yoon, grew to become appearing president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the Nationwide Meeting about two weeks in the past over his short-lived Dec. 3 imposition of martial legislation. Han rapidly clashed with the primary liberal opposition Democratic Social gathering as he pushed again in opposition to opposition-led efforts to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court docket, set up an unbiased investigation into Yoon’s martial legislation decree and legislate pro-farmer payments.

Lawmakers of the ruling Folks Energy Social gathering protest to South Korea’s Nationwide Meeting Speaker Woo Gained Shik, prime heart, throughout a plenary session for the impeachment movement in opposition to South Korean appearing President Han Duck-soo on the Nationwide Meeting in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024.

Ahn Younger-joon/AP

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Ahn Younger-joon/AP

On the coronary heart of the preventing is the Democratic Social gathering’s demand that Han approve the meeting’s nominations of three new Constitutional Court docket justices to revive its full nine-member bench forward of its ruling on Yoon’s impeachment. That is a politically delicate problem as a result of a courtroom determination to dismiss Yoon as president wants help from at the very least six justices, and including extra justices will seemingly improve the prospects for Yoon’s ouster. Yoon’s political allies within the governing Folks Energy Social gathering oppose the appointment of the three justices, saying Han should not train the presidential authority to make the appointments whereas Yoon has but to be formally faraway from workplace.

On Thursday, Han mentioned he would not appoint the justices with out bipartisan consent. The Democratic Social gathering, which holds a majority within the meeting, submitted an impeachment movement in opposition to Han and handed payments calling for the appointment of three justices.

South Korean investigative companies are probing whether or not Yoon dedicated rebel and abuse of energy along with his marital legislation decree. His protection minister, police chief and a number of other different senior army commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and law enforcement officials to the Nationwide Meeting, which prompted a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and voted unanimously to overrule Yoon’s decree.