Seoul, South Korea - 's opposition on Thursday filed an impeachment motion against acting president Han Duck-soo, in an escalating conflict over efforts to remove his predecessor from office.
South Korea's acting president, Han Duck-soo, is in danger of being impeached as opposition parties seek to remove a second leader in less than two weeks. © REUTERS
South Korea fell in a political crisis when President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently suspended, on December 3.
Yoon was over the dramatic declaration, but a constitutional court ruling upholding the decision by lawmakers is necessary to complete the impeachment process.
The court is currently short of three judges. While it can go ahead with its six members on the bench, a single dissenting vote would reinstate Yoon.
The opposition wants Han to approve three more nominees to fill the 9-member bench, something that he has so far refused to do, essentially leaving both sides in a deadlock.
"We have filed the motion… and will report it to the plenary session today," MP Park Sung-joon told reporters at the National Assembly of the impeachment action against Han. "We will put it to a vote tomorrow."
Han is being accused of shielding his predecessor, the currently suspended Yoon Suk Yeo, who threw his country into political turmoil by briefly declaring martial law. © REUTERS
Han's refusal to formally appoint the three judges proves that he "does not have the will or qualification to uphold the constitution," the Democratic Party's floor leader Park Chan-dae told reporters.
Han has said that he would certify the judges' appointments only if his ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the opposition reach a compromise on the nominees.
"The consistent principle embedded in our constitution and laws is to refrain from exercising significant exclusive presidential powers, including the appointment of constitutional institutions," Han argued.
"A consensus between the ruling and opposition parties in the National Assembly, representing the people, must first be reached," the 75-year-old added.
If the opposition passes the impeachment motion against Han in Friday's vote, it would mark the first time democratic South Korea has impeached an acting president.
In Han's place, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would step in as acting president.
In the impeachment motion, the opposition also accuses Han of violating his duty as acting president by refusing to sign two special probe bills to investigate Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law and graft allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
Earlier this week, Han rejected the opposition's demand for the special bills that would establish two independent investigative bodies to probe the first couple, prompting warnings of impeachment from the Democratic Party.
If the opposition succeeds in their bid on Friday, South Korea will see its second impeachment of a head of state in less than two weeks.
Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection over his martial law declaration, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
