 "South Korea votes to impeach Han Duck-soo. Here’s what happens next")
South Korean MPs have voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.
The development comes two weeks after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who had briefly imposed martial law in South Korea.
Han, the Prime Minister of South Korea and the number 2 official in the country, had in stepped in to take over Yoon’s powers.
Lawmakers had accused Han of failing to stop Yoon’s bid for complete power on December 3.
Han had apologised for not doing so.
But what happened? And what happens next?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened?
As per BBC, the vote was held amid much disorder in parliament.
It began with National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik declaring that just 151 of 300 votes in parliament would be needed for Han to be impeached.
The parties had been at loggerheads over the numbers required to impeach an acting president.
While most officials in South Korea can be impeached by a simple majority vote, the impeachment of a president of South Korea requires a two-thirds majority – 200 votes.
Yoon was only impeached after members of his ruling party crossed the aisle to throw in with the opposition which has 192 seats – of 170 belong to the Democratic Party – in parliament.
However, since Han was merely the acting president, a debate about how many votes would be needed to oust him arose.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) claimed a two-thirds majority would be needed to impeach Han, while the opposition claimed a simple majority would suffice.
The National Assembly Speaker Woo sided with the opposition on Thursday.
This caused an uproar in parliament with ruling party MPs congregating amidst the voting chamber. The MPs raised chants of “invalid” and “abuse of power” and demanded that Woo resign.
As per SCMP, the opposition in its motion accused Han of “intentionally avoiding the special investigation to probe those involved in the insurrection and has clearly stated his intention to reject the appointments of three Constitutional Court judges.”
It claimed such actions were “in violation of a public official’s duty to uphold the law … and serve the public”.
The opposition then unanimously voted to impeach Han.
“I announce that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment motion has passed. Out of the 192 lawmakers who voted, 192 voted to impeach,” National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-Shik said as per the outlet.
All the ruling party MPs boycotted the vote.
This is the first time an acting president has been impeached since South Korea became a democracy.
As per SCMP, PPP leader Kweon Seong-dong said Han “must continue to lead state affairs without yielding to the opposition’s passage of the impeachment motion” after the vote.
Ahead of the parliamentary session, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party had accused Han of “acting for insurrection.”
What happens next?
As per BBC, Han now needs to be notified of the impeachment by parliament.
Like Yoon , Han’s case too now goes before the Constitution Court.
The Constitutional Court will now conduct a trial and either confirm or reject Han’s impeachment motion.
It will take into account evidence from parliament to decide whether Han violated the law.
The court will hear oral arguments from the chair of parliament’s justice committee and from the public official or their legal counsel.
It has 180 days to either confirm the impeachment or reject it.
Six out of nine justices will have to vote for the impeachment to be confirmed.
However, the court currently has three vacancies – which Han himself refused to fill and was one of the reasons why the opposition impeached him.
Han had claimed he was doing so to give the ruling and opposition parties more time to reach a compromise.
He said he would only do so when the parties arrived at a consensus.
Han said he was saddened by what the unfolding events meant for the next generation, but accepted the outcome.
“I respect parliament’s decision and in order to avoid further chaos and uncertainty, I will suspend my duties in accordance with relevant laws,” he said.
He added he would await the decision of the Constitutional Court to review the impeachment motion.
The ruling People Power Party, which has objected to the opposition-led impeachment of Han, said it had filed a constitutional petition.
Meanwhile, finance minister Choi Sang-mok will take over as acting president.
Choi is set to speak to the military chief and consult the foreign minister and acting defence minister, a spokesperson said.
Choi had earlier pleaded with parliament to withdraw the plan to impeach Han, saying it would do serious damage to the economy.
What do experts say?
Experts say the country will be plunged into political chaos and that its once-vibrant democratic success story is in uncharted territory.
Jeong Hoi-ok, a professor of political science at Myongji University, called the situation “semi-anarchy”.
“The country is navigating uncharted waters after the December 3 martial law fiasco, putting its hard-won democracy – built through decades of pro-democracy struggles – at grave risk,” Jeong said as per SCMP.
Jung Suk-koo, a former columnist at The Hankyoreh, told SCMP, “Political uncertainties are multiplying rather than diminishing,” he said.
Democratic Party lawmaker Jo Seoung-lae said Han’s refusal to formally appoint the three judges “revealed his true colours”.
The refusal, he said, “is a direct challenge to the Constitution and the law.”
“Impeaching Han would only mean prolonged political uncertainties,” said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.
“In terms of financial markets, (Choi) taking charge can only be bad news, as it only goes to show that political turmoil is ongoing.”
There was a chance the country would plunge into economic troubles comparable to its devastating financial crisis of the late 1990s, said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.
The South Korean won retreated to 1,475.4 per dollar, down 0.53 per cent ahead of the parliamentary vote.
BBC reported that the currency later hit its lowest level against the dollar since the 2008 financial crisis.
The vote to determine Han’s fate comes on the day the Constitutional Court held its first hearing to review whether to overturn the impeachment and reinstate Yoon or remove him permanently from office.
Speaking in a preparatory hearing, Justice Cheong Hyung-sik said the court would move swiftly in the case considering its gravity, denying a request by Yoon ’s lawyers for a postponement in proceedings to better prepare.
The next hearing is due on January 3.
One lawyer representing Yoon later told reporters the impeached president planned to appear in person in future.
The hearing follows weeks of defiance by Yoon, who ignored court requests to submit documents as well as summons by investigators in a separate criminal case over his martial law declaration.
Yoon was not required to attend Friday’s hearing.
If he is ousted, a new presidential election would be held within 60 days.
With inputs from agencies
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