In South Korea, impeachment proceedings have been initiated against a sitting president for the second time this December. The Democratic Party, the opposition party with an absolute majority in parliament, said on Thursday it wanted to remove acting President Han Duck-soo. This decision came after Han announced in a speech that he would not appoint three new judges to the Constitutional Court for the time being.
In the late hours of December 3, President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a military emergency. Parliament ended this after a few hours and a week and a half later a two-thirds majority supported impeachment proceedings against Yoon. He was suspended and since then his duties have been assumed by acting President Han, who was prime minister under Yoon. The Constitutional Court must now consider whether Yoon will actually be deposed.
To do this, at least six of the nine justices must vote in favor of impeachment. The problem is that only six judges are currently in office — the remaining three positions are vacant. New judges must be appointed by the president, but Han says he does not want to do this until the conservative PPP and the liberal Democratic Party have reached a political compromise. They must then decide whether an acting president has the authority to appoint new judges.
Political struggle
The nonpartisan Han’s speech sparked consternation among the Democratic Party, which sees it as yet another attempt by conservatives to frustrate Yoon’s impeachment process. Earlier, members of the PPP boycotted a parliamentary vote on Yoon’s impeachment. Later, the conservative party came up with a plan to leave Yoon in office but let Han perform all his duties. This was called “a second coup attempt” by opponents.
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By supporting the impeachment proceedings, Han has now become acting president, which he will remain during the period in which the Constitutional Court assesses whether Yoon should be dismissed. To remove Han as acting president, a two-thirds majority is needed in parliament. This also means that at least eight members of the PPP must vote in favor of the procedure. If the necessary majority is achieved, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will become the new acting president.
Constitutional Court
In South Korea, three judges at the Constitutional Court are appointed directly by the president, three by the president of the Supreme Court and three by parliament. The three vacant positions concern judges appointed by parliament. A majority of them also supported three candidates, even though these votes were also boycotted by conservative parliamentarians. The elected judges must then be formally appointed by the president. That is normally only a procedural matter, but Han refuses to give his approval for the time being.
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It is yet another bump in the road in Yoon’s eventual ouster. In the meantime, many South Koreans are still braving the winter cold to demonstrate for the removal and prosecution of Yoon as quickly as possible and the calling of new elections. If Yoon is indeed forced to leave, new elections must be called within sixty days.