S. Korean opposition files motion to impeach interim president

Seoul, December 26 (EFE).- South Korea’s main opposition party submitted a motion to Parliament on Thursday calling for the dismissal of Prime Minister and interim President Han Duck-soo.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s (PD) announcement comes after Han said he would not appoint judges to the Constitutional Court, as demanded by the opposition, until the DP and the ruling Conservative Party (PPP) reach agreement on which three judges should fill vacant seats on South Korea’s highest court.

“It is the consistent spirit of our Constitution and laws that the acting president refrains from exercising the vital and exclusive authority of the president, including appointments to constitutional institutions,” Han said, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

“Should it be unavoidable to exercise such authority, I believe it is an unbroken custom in our constitutional history that the ruling and opposition parties first reach an agreement in the National Assembly” , he said.

Han implored the two parties to reach an agreement on the three candidates, since the DP, using its clear parliamentary majority as an argument, proposed two, compared to only one for the PPP, which insists that the two parties each present one candidate. and let’s agree on a third.

DP parliamentary group leader Park Chan-dae told reporters on Thursday that the party registered the impeachment motion after Han’s message and that since by law, motions cannot be voted on before 24 hours after their parliamentary presentation, the vote is expected to take place on Friday.

On Tuesday, the main opposition bloc, which holds a majority in the National Assembly (Parliament), threatened to file a motion to impeach Han if he does not ratify the appointments of the three remaining vacant judge positions among the nine members of the Constitutional Assembly. Court, which must decide by June whether to ratify the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol for declaring martial law earlier this month.

If the three vacancies are not filled, the six judges currently holding seats on South Korea’s highest court must unanimously approve the president’s impeachment, because by law at least six votes are needed to maintain a impeachment motion.

The DP is trying to exert maximum pressure on Yoon (it has also asked Han to ratify special investigations into the president and first lady) to ensure that his dismissal is finalized as quickly as possible, thereby triggering early elections.

The PPP appears to be seeking to delay Yoon’s impeachment process as long as possible in case the Supreme Court could soon ratify a conviction against DP leader Lee Jae-myung for violating the election law. EFE

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