Protesters calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol react after the result of the second impeachment vote under martial law in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, December 14, 2024. ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP South Korean opposition Korean announced Thursday, December 26, that it had filed a motion for impeachment against interim President Han Duck-soo, a new episode in the political crisis that Asia’s fourth largest economy has been experiencing since the coup. force failed by now deposed President Yoon Suk Yeol in early December. “We tabled the motion just before the plenary session,” Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sung-joon told reporters at the National Assembly. “We will put it to a vote tomorrow,” he added. The opposition criticizes Mr. Han for refusing to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, which must within six months validate or invalidate the dismissal of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, voted by the deputies on December 14, for his failed attempt to impose martial law and muzzle Parliament by sending the army there eleven days earlier. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers South Korea: President Yoon Suk Yeol dismissed by the National Assembly Read later Han Duck-soo wants a “consensus” Han Duck-soo, Prime Minister, assumes the interim presidency, and M Yoon is suspended pending the Constitutional Court’s verdict. This must rule by a two-thirds majority. However, three of its nine seats are vacant due to the retirement of their holders last fall. The three new judges were in principle to be appointed by the president on Thursday from among the candidates chosen by the National Assembly, controlled by the opposition. But Mr. Han, a 75-year-old career civil servant, maintains that his status as interim president does not give him the power to make major appointments, and demands that the choice of judges be first subject to review. an agreement between the People’s Power Party (PPP, in power) and the opposition groups. The interim president must “refrain from exercising the most important exclusive presidential powers, including appointment to constitutional institutions,” Mr. Han justified. “A consensus between the ruling party and the opposition in the National Assembly, which represents the people, must first be reached,” he added. The Constitutional Court is scheduled to hold a first hearing on Mr. Yoon’s impeachment on Friday. If the three vacant seats are not filled before the end of the procedure, the six remaining judges will have to rule unanimously to permanently oust Mr. Yoon from power. A single vote against impeachment would mean his automatic reinstatement in office. Yoon Suk Yeol under investigation for “rebellion” Mr. Han’s refusal to appoint new judges proves “that he has neither the will nor the skills to respect the Constitution”, lamented the head of line of Democratic Party deputies in the Assembly, Park Chan-dae. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover If the motion tabled by the opposition is adopted, it will be the first dismissal of a president by interim after that of the titular president in the history of South Korea. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would then become the new interim president. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The memory of the Gwangju massacre at the heart of the mobilization against martial law in South Korea Read later The South Korean Constitution provides that the National Assembly can dismiss the president by a majority vote of both third party, and the Prime Minister and other members of the government by simple majority. The opposition, which has 192 seats out of 300 in the Assembly, says it only needs a simple majority to depose Mr Han, since he is only prime minister. But the PPP instead argues that a two-thirds majority is necessary, since Mr. Han is acting president. Yoon Suk Yeol, 64, is also under investigation for “rebellion”, a crime punishable by death. The Corruption Investigation Bureau, which centralizes investigations, has already summoned the deposed president twice to question him about the events of the night of December 3 to 4, which stunned the country. But Mr. Yoon did not show up for any of these summonses. Investigators must decide in the coming days whether to issue a third summons, or whether to ask the courts for a warrant to bring Mr. Yoon to court by force. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In South Korea, justice is determined to try the dismissed president for his coup Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2024-12-26 07:47:27
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