South Korean Political Crisis Worsens As Lawmakers Impeach Second President In Two Weeks

Two weeks after his predecessor was suspended due to a martial law proclamation that stunned the globe, South Korean lawmakers decided to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday, further depressing the nation’s political situation.

On December 14, Han, a career bureaucrat who was acting as prime minister, succeeded President Yoon Suk Yeol, who had been impeached by parliament on rebellion charges. Now, opposition MPs have removed Han from his position, claiming that he rejected calls to bring Yoon to justice and finish the impeachment process.

“I announce that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment motion has passed. Out of the 192 lawmakers who voted, 192 voted to impeach,” said National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.

Following the speaker’s announcement that impeachment may be passed with a simple majority rather than the two-thirds needed to remove Yoon, lawmakers from the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) erupted in a loud protest in parliament.

Many PPP MPs rushed towards Woo as they started chanting vehemently that he should resign. They did not participate in the voting process. This Friday’s vote marked South Korea’s first impeachment of an acting president and the country’s second impeachment of a head of state in as many weeks.

Han “must continue to lead state affairs without yielding to the opposition’s passage of the impeachment motion,” stated PPP leader Kweon Seong-dong following the vote. But Han said he “respects the parliament’s decision” and would wait for the Constitutional Court’s subsequent decision on whether to uphold it.

Choi Sang-mok, the finance minister who is now serving as both prime minister and acting president, promised to do everything in his power to put a stop to the political turmoil that is engulfing his nation.

Shortly after taking over as acting leader, Choi stated in a speech that “minimizing governmental turmoil is of utmost importance at this moment” and that “the government will also dedicate all its efforts to overcoming this period of turmoil.”

South Korea’s win fell to a 16-year low against the US dollar on Friday amid the ongoing turmoil, which is worse than what happened right after Yoon declared martial law and sending the currency plunging to a two-year low against the US dollar. Stocks in Seoul also fell, with the KOSPI Index ending the day down 1.02 percent on Friday.

Han’s refusal to add more judges to the Constitutional Court, which will determine whether to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach Yoon and now Han as well, was the main cause of the backlash against him. There are presently three judges missing from the court. A single dissenting vote would reinstate Yoon, but it can proceed with its six members on the bench.

Both sides were at a standstill because Han declined to approve three additional nominees to fill the nine-member bench, as requested by the opposition. Lawmaker Jo Seoung-late of the Democratic Party claimed that Han’s failure to formally appoint additional judges “revealed his true colors”.

According to Jo, the denial “is a direct challenge to the Constitution and the law.” In its move for impeachment, the opposition stated that Han was “intentionally avoiding the special investigation to probe those involved in the insurrection and has clearly stated his intention to reject the appointments of three Constitutional Court judges”.