Previously, Chairman of the Korean National Assembly Woo Won-shik said today, December 27, that only half the votes of parliamentarians were needed for the motion to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo to pass, according to Reuters.
The motion to impeach Mr. Han was unanimously approved in the vote with 192 votes in favor and no votes against, marking the first time an acting president has been impeached by parliament, according to Yonhap.
Acting President of South Korea Han Duck-soo addresses the nation at the government complex in Seoul on December 14.
When the voting began, lawmakers from the ruling People’s Power party protested in front of parliament, according to AFP.
Previously, Yonhap reported that if the impeachment motion is passed, Mr. Han’s duties will be suspended and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who also holds the position of deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, will be suspended. will assume the role of acting president.
This is the first time in Korean constitutional history that a petition to impeach an acting president was put to a vote in the National Assembly.
The above impeachment motion was made not long after Mr. Han said he would not appoint Constitutional Court judges until the parties reached a political agreement.
The opposition-controlled Korean National Assembly voted on December 26 to nominate three more judges, but still need to wait for Mr. Han’s official appointment. Among them are two candidates Ma Eun-hyuk and Jeong Gye-seon nominated by the Democratic Party and candidate Cho Han-chang nominated by the ruling People’s Power Party.
The appointment will help the Constitutional Court have 9 judges for the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who issued controversial martial law on December 3. According to the law, at least 6 out of 9 judges need to vote in favor to proceed with the trial.
