Political analyst explains reasons for impeachment of South Korea's acting president
The reason for the impeachment of acting South Korean President Han Dok-soo was his veto of several Democratic Party initiatives and sabotage of the impeachment procedure against his predecessor, Yoon Seok-yeol. This opinion was shared with Izvestia on December 27 by Daria Kurginova, an expert at Polylog Group and a political scientist.
Han Dok-soo's impeachment was announced earlier in the day, the media reported. 192 deputies voted in favor of his removal, 151 votes were needed for the decision. The politician, in turn, said he respects the parliament's decision and will wait for the verdict of the Constitutional Court.
"Han Dok Suh, contrary to the opposition's expectations, turned out to be independent and not as prone to compromise as they would have liked. <...> As a result, the Democrats drew a conclusion and started the impeachment process," Kurginova commented.
First, she explained, Han Dok-soo sided with the conservatives and immediately vetoed six Democratic bills - two on parliamentary work and four on agriculture. Second, the refusal to immediately consider the Constitutional Court judges proposed by the Democratic Party finally "finished the position" of Han Dok Suh.
"This delays one of the stages of the impeachment procedure of President Yoon Seok-yeol: there are not enough judges for it: there are six, but nine are needed. The acting, however, suggested that the deputies "agree among themselves", essentially sending them back to the conservatives," the expert said.
According to her, now there are two ways to develop the situation. According to the first, the conservatives and Democrats will reach a compromise, approve constitutional judges and complete the impeachment process against Yoon Seok-yeol.
"Against the backdrop of the president's crumbling party, which has already exhausted the resource of trust and consolidation, as well as the Democrats' requests, this is a rational decision. As the saying goes, 'flight is the best stratagem': conservatives should retreat and regroup. The only question is who will reach the truce. Either Han Doksu, if they cancel the results of impeachment of the acting, or the new acting - Minister of Economy Choi Sang-mok," the interlocutor of the publication added.
The second scenario is connected with the continuation of party confrontation, and it is not clear how exactly it will manifest itself, since all the barriers have already been removed - the country has experienced the first double impeachment in history. At the same time, according to Kurginova, there is no need to assume that the crisis will turn into a civil war, because so far the "war" is only between the parties and inside the parliament.
Earlier in the day, against the backdrop of Han Dok-soo's impeachment, it became known that Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok would assume his duties as acting president on Friday.
The situation in the Republic of Korea escalated in early December when President Yun Seok-yol declared martial law. He cited the threat of power paralysis caused by attempts to conduct impeachment proceedings as the reason for the move. The commander of the emergency regime - Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Park Ahn Soo - noted that until martial law is lifted in the republic, the activities of the parliament, political parties and associations are prohibited. Military equipment was brought to the streets of Seoul.
The opposition party of the republic, in turn, demanded the resignation of the head of state and said that they intend to accuse Yoon Seok-yeol of treason. According to the latest information, he is banned from leaving the country, he was assigned the status of a suspect in the case of mutiny. At the same time, all heads and senior secretaries of the presidential administration of South Korea resigned. In addition, trade unions of the republic announced a general strike.
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