South Korea votes to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo
Two weeks after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol, it voted to impeach acting President Han Deok-soo.
A total of 192 members voted to impeach him, exceeding the 151 votes needed for a successful impeachment.
President Yoon failed in his attempt to impose martial law on December 3 and was impeached by the parliament, subsequently taking over as South Korea’s prime minister.
Han is expected to lead the country out of political turmoil, but opposition lawmakers argue he refuses to complete Yoon’s impeachment proceedings.
There was chaos in Parliament when the vote took place on Friday.
Lawmakers from Yoon and South Korea’s ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) protested after National Assembly Speaker Oh Won-sik announced that only 151 votes would be needed to pass the impeachment bill.
This means that unlike the 200 votes required to impeach Yoon, the impeachment of Han Kuo-yu in Congress this time does not require the votes of ruling party members.
Lawmakers from the ruling party gathered in the center of the voting room and shouted “Invalid!” and “Abuse of power!” and called on the speaker to step down. Most of them boycotted the vote.
Han will be suspended once he receives formal notification from parliament.
Like Yin, Han’s impeachment will need to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days to rule on whether the impeachment should be upheld.
“I respect the National Assembly’s decision,” Han said on Friday, adding that he “will wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision.”
South Korea’s opposition first filed an impeachment motion against Han on Thursday after South Korea blocked the appointment of three judges chosen by parliament to oversee Yoon’s case.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court usually consists of nine judges. At least six justices must support Yin’s impeachment for the decision to be upheld.
There are currently only six judges on the bench, meaning that just one refusal would save Yin from being removed from office.
The opposition had hoped that adding three more nominees would help increase Yoon’s chances of impeachment.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will take over as acting president of South Korea.
Han Kuo-yu’s ouster is likely to exacerbate the political deadlock and uncertainty the country currently faces.
The South Korean won also fell to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar on Friday since the global financial crisis 16 years ago, with both sides blaming each other for causing the chaos.
