Acting President Han impeached

By Park Sae-jin Posted : December 27, 2024, 16:37 Updated : December 27, 2024, 16:37
Acting President Han Duck-soo speaks at a meeting at his official residence in Seoul on Dec. 26, 2024. Yonhap
SEOUL, December 27 (AJP) - The National Assembly on Friday passed a motion to impeach Acting President Han Duck-soo over his refusal to appoint justices to fill vacancies at Korea's Constitutional Court.

Han's impeachment came just a day after he insisted on a parliamentary agreement granting him the authority to appoint three nominees to fill the vacancies at the court.

With the motion passed at the National Assembly, where the main opposition Democratic Party holds a supermajority, Han's duties were immediately suspended, marking the first time in South Korea's constitutional history that an acting president has been impeached.

The DP has been pushing to fill the court's three vacant seats, as it currently has only six sitting justices out of the nine, requiring a unanimous decision to uphold Yoon's impeachment after his failed declaration of martial law earlier this month.

But the ruling People Power Party (PPP) argued that an acting president is not entitled to make such decisions.

The DP also claimed that Han's refusal to appoint them could be seen as part of his involvement in Yoon's botched martial law attempt, while also condemning his refusal to respond to the DP's demand to promulgate two bills for investigations by independent prosecutors into Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee over several allegations.

Kim has been embroiled in a string of controversies including the acceptance of a luxury handbag and involvement in a stock manipulation scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok is now stepping in to replace Han.

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