The south korean opposition presented this Thursday before Parliament a motion that will be voted on Friday to seek the dismissal of Han Duck-sooprime minister and interim president of the country, after the acting head of state refused to comply with his demands.
“We have presented the motion“, the legislator told journalists Park Sung-joon in the National Assembly. “We will vote on it tomorrow (Friday)”.
The announcement of Democratic Party (PS) comes after Han said that will not approve appointments of new judges for the Constitutional Court, as the opposition demanded, until the PD itself and the governing and conservative People Power Party (PPP) reach an agreement regarding the three judges who must occupy the vacant seats of the South Korean highest court.
The leader of the PD parliamentary group, Park Chan-daeexplained this Thursday to the media that the formation registered the initiative after Han’s message and that, since by law Motions cannot be voted on until 24 hours later. Since its parliamentary presentation, the vote will take place this Friday.
On Tuesday, the main opposition bloc, which holds a majority in the National Assembly (Parliament), had already threatened to present an impeachment motion against Han if he did not ratify the appointments of the three judges of the Constitutional Court, which between now and June must decide whether or not to make the president’s dismissal definitive. Yoon Suk-yeolfor having declared martial law at the beginning of the month.
If the three vacancies are not filled, the six judges who currently occupy seats on South Korea’s highest court must unanimously approve the president’s dismissal for it to be final.
The PD is trying to apply maximum pressure on Yoon (it has also asked Han to ratify special investigations into the president and the first lady) in order to guarantee that his dismissal is finalized as soon as possible and thus a early presidential elections in which he would be a clear favorite.
The PPP seems to be seeking instead to delay the process for Yoon’s dismissal as much as possible given the possibility that the Supreme Court could soon ratify a sentence for violate the electoral law that weighs on the leader of the liberals, Lee Jae-myungwho would be beheaded ahead of the elections.
Han, for his part, implored the two parties this Thursday to reach an agreement regarding the three candidates for the Constitutional Court, since the PD, using its clear parliamentary majority as an argument, has proposed two of them against one for part of the PPP, which insists that both parties should present one candidate each and agree on a third.
“The consistent principle embedded in our Constitution and laws is to refrain from exercising significant exclusive presidential powers, including the appointment of constitutional institutions”Han argued.
“A consensus must first be reached between the ruling and opposition parties in the National Assembly, who represent the people,” added the 75-year-old career bureaucrat.
If the opposition approves the impeachment motion against Han in Friday’s vote, it would be the first time that a democratic South Korea has removed an interim president.
Instead of Han, the finance minister, Choi Sang-mokwould assume the position of interim president.
South Korea fell into a political crisis when currently suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on December 3.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
