Failed in his duties: South Korea impeaches acting president
South Korea has announced the impeachment of acting President Han Dok-soo, also serving as prime minister. He took office on December 14. The opposition decided to remove the politician from power after his government refused to support a number of bills against former President Yun Seok Ël and his wife, suspected of corruption. Meanwhile, the new acting head of state, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok, began his duties on December 27. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Not even two weeks have passed
The Parliament (National Assembly) of South Korea by a majority of votes supported the impeachment of acting President Han Dok-soo. 192 deputies out of 300 voted in favor of his removal from power.
According to the country's constitution, impeachment requires the votes of 200 lawmakers, but a simple majority is enough for lower-ranking officials, including the head of the government.
The speaker of the National Assembly warned even before the vote that the votes would count as in the impeachment of the prime minister.
The ruling People's Power Party (PPP) has refused to support the impeachment of the acting president, and has also opposed a simple majority vote.
According to Yonhap, the PPP is now going to take legal action. The acting president himself has said that he respects the parliament's decision and will suspend his duties as head of state in accordance with the law.
Lawmakers protest during a vote to impeach South Korea's acting president and Prime Minister Han Dok-soo at a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2024
Han Dok Suh became acting president on Dec. 14, after Yoon Seok Ël was removed from office because he imposed martial law.
The impeachment of Han Dok-su was initiated by the opposition represented by the Democratic Party of Korea Toburo (DPK). The reason for this was his government's refusal to consider two bills to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate former President Yun Seok Ël and corruption by former first lady Kim Gong Hee. The decision was made without the opposition's consent.
Acting President Han Dok-soo said a compromise between the opposition and the government was necessary for the investigation to be transparent. He also oversaw the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court, three out of nine were missing. By law, it is the parliament's advantage to propose judges and the president's duty to appoint them. But complications have arisen. According to Han Dok Suh, he refused to appoint the judges because only the opposition supported their nominations, but not the People Power Party, to which he himself belongs.
The opposition believes that by doing so, the acting president violated the law, which states that a simple majority of votes, which is exactly what the opposition has, is sufficient to nominate judges.
On Friday, December 27, the new acting head of state, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of South Korea Choi Sang-mok, began his duties. It is noted that on his first day of work he is scheduled to meet with Han Dok-soo, who will hand over his powers. Afterward, Choi Sang-mok will hold telephone talks with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give orders to ministers.Also, the new acting president is to issue a written address to the public. In addition, he is to convene the National Security Council for a meeting.
Unsuccessful address to the nation
South Korea's political crisis erupted on Dec. 3 when then-president Yun Seok Ël made an emergency address to the nation and announced the imposition of martial law for the first time since 1980.
The head of state explained his decision by "the need to fight the unprincipled pro-North Korean 'anti-state forces'" - as conservatives call the opposition DPK, which advocates normalization of relations with the DPRK. He said the opposition was "planning sabotage" by going to announce the impeachment of 22 government officials.
However, the motives behind this decision are still not completely clear. The real reason was probably the threat of impeachment against the president himself due to his low popularity and corruption scandals involving his wife. Yoon Seok Ël's wife was accused of receiving gifts worth far more than the authorized limit.
After the president's words on December 3, South Korea banned any political activity, including the work of parties and the National Assembly.
But members of parliament were still able to convene before the military arrived there and vote in favor of lifting martial law. On the morning of December 4, the head of state submitted to their will, after which his rating fell to 11%.
The opposition then launched impeachment proceedings. On the second attempt, Yoon Seok-lil was impeached. The Constitutional Court will now have to approve the decision. At least six votes of the Constitutional Court judges are needed to finally impeach Yoon Sok Ël.
However, the parliament believes that the full court is needed to make the impeachment decision look legally flawless.
Enjoying the crisis
Following Han Dok-soo's departure, First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will take over as acting president. During the Constitutional Court's impeachment case against the president, Yoon Seok Ël is stripped of presidential power, but he can continue to live in the presidents' official residence, the Blue House.
If the highest judicial body approves Yoon Seok Ël's removal from power, South Korea will call a new presidential election within the next 60 days. But if the court does not uphold the parliament's decision, Yoon Seok Ël will be reinstated as president.
Former South Korean President Yoon Seok-yol
Alexander Zhebin, a leading researcher at the IKSA RAS Center for Korean Studies, explained to Izvestia that for any case to be considered by the Constitutional Court, at least seven people must be familiar with it.
- Now there are six, with two judges appointed by the former president from the opposition and four appointed by the current president. The big question is whether they will vote for impeachment," the political analyst emphasized.
He added that there was a case in the country's history when the Constitutional Court returned the powers to the president, rejecting the impeachment procedure. In 2004, the judges sided with Roh Moo-hyun, whom the opposition accused of financial fraud and inability to deal with corruption.
Elena Panina, director of the Institute for International Political and Economic Strategies - RUSSTRAT - believes that the martial law in South Korea, which lasted for six hours, is "vivid proof that the United States cannot tolerate serious crises in the camp of its Indo-Pacific allies, as well as President Yun's overestimation of his importance."
"Virtually the entire South Korean society, including some of his own advisers, is now opposed to Yoon Seok-yol. Civil society is all the more outraged: students and professors at all major universities in South Korea have condemned Yoon," the political scientist said in her Telegram channel.
According to her, it cannot be ruled out that it was the negative reaction to the putsch that forced Yun to backtrack in view of the complete futility of holding on to power by force. "Because, according to historical tradition, presidents in South Korea are not very fond of presidents in general, and prison for them, you could say, is the most important element of their career," the specialist summarized.
Political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov also notes that the situation in the country is only heating up.
"In South Korea, they want to enjoy the political crisis to the greatest extent. To paraphrase a Russian saying on Korean cuisine, 'beat the last cucumber,'" the expert joked in his Telegram channel "Russia in Global Politics."
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
