The South Korean legislature reportedly voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday after he declined to make the judicial appointments necessary to advance the impeachment of his predecessor.
This decision extended the political upheaval that commenced with a brief martial law declaration earlier this month.
After the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, Han was appointed as the interim leader of the country less than two weeks ago.
The failure of the country’s two main parties to collaborate in resolving the deepening turmoil was exemplified by Han’s impeachment in a raucous legislative session, which was intended to reassure allies and stabilize state affairs.
South Korea’s constitutional court is required to review and certify the vote before a leader can be removed from office, despite the fact that a successful impeachment motion promptly strips a president of powers.
Three vacancies on the nine-member court are being pursued by the opposition Democratic Party, which currently holds a majority in the legislature.
Party officials sought to remove Han from office due to his refusal to promptly fill the vacancies and to approve legislation that would initiate a special investigation into Yoon’s martial-law declaration.
The People Power Party, which currently holds power, contended that an interim president lacks the authority to appoint constitutional court justices.
The two major parties also disagreed on the number of ballots necessary to impeach Han, who had maintained his previous position as South Korea’s prime minister.
National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik stated that a simple majority would be sufficient to impeach a president, as opposed to the two-thirds vote that is necessary. This statement was made after legislators convened on Friday.
The rostrum of the speaker was surrounded by legislators of the ruling party, who for approximately 20 minutes, while the votes were being cast, pumped their fists in the air and chanted “void ab initio,” thereby declaring the vote to be of no legal significance. There were those who advocated for Woo’s resignation.
As the ballots were counted, the majority of the ruling party’s members withdrew.
The 300-seat legislature’s lawmakers voted 192 times in favor of impeachment, which resulted in the deprivation of presidential powers from Han.
This marks the inaugural instance in which South Korea has impeached an interim president.
Han stated that he would await the constitutional court’s assessment and that he would respect the legislature’s decision following the vote.
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