SEOUL – South Korea’s National Assembly voted today (December 27) to impeach Acting President Han Duck-soo during a turbulent General Assembly meeting centered on his failure to appoint three new Constitutional Court justices. Lawmakers voted 192 to 0 for impeachment, with the ruling People Power Party boycotting the ballot.
Han’s impeachment motion passed just two weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from his duties on December 14 over his temporary declaration of martial law on December 3, a shock move that has sparked spirited street protests calling for his removal.
Today’s vote marks the first time an acting president has been impeached in South Korean history. Han took over Yoon’s presidential role after he was impeached by parliament and while his case is pending at the Constitutional Court. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to serve as interim leader.
Initially, the Democratic Party said it would not impeach Han if he did not veto any legislation. “Going through impeachment too often can create confusion for the people,” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said on December 15.
However, Han has vetoed six legislations in just one week since assuming his presidential duties. He has also refused to appoint three new Constitutional Court justices, which would enhance the likelihood of a ruling to finalize Yoon’s legal removal from power.
“It is the spirit of our constitution that an acting president refrains from actively exercising presidential authority, including Constitutional Court justice appointments,” Han said in an address on December 26.
Three Constitutional Court seats are currently vacant, with two more justices set to retire in April 2024. By law, at least seven judges need to be present to deliberate an impeachment motion and six need to rule in favor to finalize Yoon’s ouster.
Han demanded ruling and opposition parties come to an agreement before asking him to appoint the justices. However, the Democratic Party claims there is no need for further agreement as the justice recommendations have already gone through confirmation hearings and a vote in the legislature.
“[Acting-President Han] is making the fallacious claim that he is refusing to perform the president’s ceremonial duties of appointing Constitutional Court justices after he has already vetoed legislations, which is the most active form of exercising presidential authority,” said Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae.
The ruling People’s Power Party railed the Democratic Party, accusing the opposition of being negligent of people’s livelihood.
“The impeachment of Acting President Han Duck-soo is not an impeachment for the country and its people. Rather it is an impeachment for DP leader Lee himself,” said People Power Party floor leader Kwon Seong-dong.
“If foreign exchange rates increase to 1,500 Korean won per one US dollar, Korea will face a financial crisis,” Kwon added.
Kwon argued that Han was working to normalize global financial market trust in South Korea. Han’s impeachment will be detrimental to South Korea’s economy, Kwon claimed.
Today’s vote was riddled with controversy. South Korean law does not stipulate the number votes needed to impeach an acting president and there are no precedents.
The Democratic Party claimed 151 votes were needed to impeach Han, citing laws that outline a simple majority is needed to impeach the prime minister. Acting President Han was President Yoon’s prime minister before Yoon was suspended from his duties.
Meanwhile, the People Power Party said the number of votes should be the same as that required to impeach the president—i.e. a two thirds majority among registered lawmakers.
However, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik sided with the Democratic Party announcing that only 151 votes were required for the impeachment motion to pass. Although the National Assembly Speaker is independent by law, Woo served six terms as a veteran lawmaker under the Democratic Party.
“I am aware there are some opinions concerning how many votes are needed to pass the motion. This motion is demanding the suspension of [Han’s] role, and the target of this motion is impeaching a prime minister who happens to be acting as President according to the constitution,” Woo said as he introduced the voting procedure.
As opposition lawmakers started to vote, ruling party lawmakers stormed the Speaker’s podium, chanting “fundamentally null and void.”
Opposition party lawmakers met with their own chant, calling the People Power Party lawmakers “insurrection accomplices,” and demanding the party to disband. “I have made this decision after much deliberation with constitution scholars,” Woo clarified.
Ruling party lawmakers boycotted the vote and stormed out of the chamber, as the Speaker declared voting adjourned at 4:25 pm local time. Following the vote, ruling party lawmakers held a press conference in front of the National Assembly to call on Speaker Woo to resign.
“The impeachment of acting-President Han Duck-soo requires the two-thirds of the registered lawmakers to vote in favor, but National Assembly Speaker Woo arbitrarily decided that the motion passes with just a simple majority,” said People Power Party floor leader Kwon. “Therefore, because it is less than two-thirds, we declare the motion fundamentally null and void,” he added.
Following Han’s impeachment, Finance Minister Choi will assume the role of acting president.
Choi did not immediately comment on Han’s impeachment. However, before the vote, Choi said, “the impeachment of Han would shrink the role of the executive body.”
Choi is a longtime bureaucrat who has served in key finance positions since the early 2000s. He was involved in former President Park Geun-hye’s corruption scandal in 2016 but was later reinstated by President Yoon in 2022.
Meanwhile, Han’s impeachment has frustrated the launch of a consultative body—made up of the executive and legislative bodies—which was set to discuss matters related to the people’s livelihoods.
Following the impeachment, Han said “I respect the decision of the National Assembly and will wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court…I will suspend my duties according to related laws in order to prevent further confusion.”
