As the Democratic Party of Korea voted to suspend acting leader Han Deok-soo, the country is falling into further uncertainty.
South Korea’s National Assembly is set to vote to impeach the acting president as ongoing turmoil in Asia’s fourth-largest economy has sent the won’s value plummeting to levels not seen since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.
The Democratic Party is pushing for the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who has accused the acting president of being involved in President Yoon Seok-yeol’s rebellion attempt, in a vote at the National Assembly on Friday.
The Democratic Party, which holds 170 seats out of 300 members of the National Assembly, submitted an article of impeachment on Thursday after one lawmaker declared martial law for a short period of time and failed to fill three court vacancies for Rep. Yoon’s impeachment trial.
The People Power Party of the Grand National Party has argued that only the elected president has the authority to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court.
In order to dismiss Candidate Yoon, at least six judges must uphold Candidate Yoon’s impeachment.
After three judges retired earlier this year, only six justices remain on the court. This means that in order to strip former President Yoon of the presidency, the court must make a unanimous ruling.
The court is scheduled to hold its first hearing on Yoon’s impeachment on Friday, and a ruling could take up to six months.
Former Prime Minister Yoon, who has defended the legality of his declaration of martial law and aimed at eradicating ‘anti-state forces’, is also under criminal investigation on charges of rebellion and abuse of power.
Rep. Han’s impeachment attempt, less than two weeks after he took office after President Yoon’s impeachment, plunges Korea into further political uncertainty as the country is still reeling from President Yoon’s martial law imposition on December 4.
Impeaching a sitting president requires the approval of more than two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly, but there is no agreement on whether the same standard applies to the acting leader.
The PPP has argued that two-thirds of lawmakers must approve the impeachment of a candidate.
The Democratic Party argues that because the Constitution provides for the removal of Cabinet members by a simple majority vote, their membership could be suspended if 151 lawmakers support impeachment.
With the Democratic Party, opposition parties and independents holding 192 seats, at least eight PPP lawmakers would need to cross the aisle to reach a two-thirds majority.
If a lawmaker is impeached, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok will assume the duties of acting president.
Rep. Choi warned on Friday that impeachment of the Grand National Party would cause a serious blow to the national economy and urged the opposition party to reconsider impeachment.
Prime Minister Choi said, “With the economy and people’s livelihoods on thin ice amid a national emergency, we cannot handle greater political uncertainty if another acting president takes over as acting president.”
Last Friday, the South Korean won plummeted against the U.S. dollar, falling below 1,480 won for the first time since March 2009.
