‘Participated in predecessor Yoon’s martial law uprising’
South Korea’s parliament has impeached acting interim president Han Duck-soo, finding him guilty of “actively participating in the insurrection” when his predecessor, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared martial law earlier this month. “I announce that the motion to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has been passed. All 192 MPs who voted approved the impeachment,” said South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.
This is the first impeachment of an interim president after that of the titular president in the history of South Korea. The role of interim head of state now falls to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.
The deputies accused Han of having “actively participated in the insurrection” after his predecessor’s failed attempt to institute martial law on December 3. On December 14, the National Assembly in Seoul voted in favor of the dismissal of conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol, who on December 3 imposed martial law and sent the army to Parliament, only to backtrack a few hours later. The Constitutional Court still has to validate or invalidate Yoon’s testimony within six months. But the opposition, which presented the impeachment petition against his interim successor, accused Han of having refused to appoint 3 of the 9 judges of the Court, which is called upon to decide the impeachment of Yoon.
Han, as interim head of state, we read in the text of the impeachment motion approved today, “intentionally obstructed the special investigation aimed at questioning those involved in the rebellion and made clear his intention to reject the appointments of three judges of the Constitutional Court”, remained vacant due to the retirement of the holders. Such actions, the motion argues, “violate every public official’s duty to uphold the law” and “serve the public.”
For the president of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, “the ‘provisional authority’ (given to Han after Yoon’s dismissal) has transformed into ‘insurrectionary authority'”.
This morning, even before the announcement of the impeachment, the South Korean won collapsed to its lowest level in the last 16 years against the dollar: a sign of investors’ concern about the future of Asia’s fourth largest economy.
