Closing Summary…
We’re closing this blog now. Here’s a summary of the day’s events:
South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly has voted to impeach the country’s acting leader, Han Duck-soo. The assembly approved the impeachment motion in a 192-0 vote on Friday. Governing party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Han, the No 2 official in South Korea, has been the caretaker leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the assembly over his short-lived imposition of martial law this month.
The South Korean won plummeted to 1,475.4 per dollar, down 0.53% ahead of the parliamentary vote. “Impeaching Han would only mean prolonged political uncertainties,” said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities. “In terms of financial markets, (Choi) taking charge can only be bad news, as it only goes to show that political turmoil is ongoing.”
Choi Sang-mok, to become interim president after latest impeachment. By law, the finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, will become interim president. Choi had pleaded with opposition lawmakers not to go ahead with the motion. “An impeachment motion against the acting authority is no different from an impeachment motion against the entire cabinet,” he told a news conference with other cabinet members earlier on Friday.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate or dismiss Yoon Suk Yeol. If Yoon is removed, Koreans will be invited to elect a new president within 60 days. Speaking in a preparatory hearing, Justice Cheong Hyung-sik said the court would move swiftly.
In a statement after the vote, acting president Han Duck-soo said he was saddened by his impeachment, but accepted the outcome. “I respect parliament’s decision and in order to avoid further chaos and uncertainty, I will suspend my duties in accordance with relevant laws,” he said.
South Korean lawmakers chant during vote to impeach acting president – video
Six justices are required by South Korea’s constitution to agree on the ousting of an impeached president. However, the nine-member court currently has three empty chairs, meaning a unanimous vote would have to be passed to eliminate Yoon.
The court insists it can deliberate and hear arguments with two-thirds capacity, but that is unlikely to fly during this tense period of political angst.
The three vacancies are to be filled by parliament, controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party, which approved three nominees this week, although the ruling People Power Party boycotted them.
Acting President Han refused to appoint the justices in the absence of a cross-party agreement, arguing that doing so was not within his remit as acting president.
In response, the opposition-controlled parliament impeached him.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate or dismiss Yoon Suk Yeol.
If Yoon is removed, Koreans will be invited to elect a new president within 60 days.
Speaking in a preparatory hearing, Justice Cheong Hyung-sik said the court would move swiftly, denying Yoon’s lawyers’ request for a postponement to better prepare.
The next hearing is due on January 3rd.
One of Yoon’s lawyers told reporters the impeached president intends to appear in person in future.
Yoon has been defiant for weeks, ignoring court requests to submit documents and summons by investigators in a separate criminal case over his martial law declaration.
Events since Yoon’s martial law declaration on December 3 had ignited South Korea’s worst political crisis since 1987 when nationwide public demonstrations forced the ruling party of former military generals to accept the democratic election of the president.
On Friday, prosecutors indicted former Defence Minister Kim Yong-Hyun in the first move to put an official accused of insurrection on trial, Yonhap News said.
Now, South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament has impeached acting president Han, increasing the nation’s political uncertainty.
“There is some legal uncertainty over conditions needed for impeaching the acting president, but, regardless of that, impeaching Han could increase concern over the economy’s external credibility,” Shin Yul, a politics professor at Myongji University in Seoul, told the Financial Times.
In a statement after the vote, acting president Han Duck-soo said he was saddened by his impeachment, but accepted the outcome.
“I respect parliament’s decision and in order to avoid further chaos and uncertainty, I will suspend my duties in accordance with relevant laws,” he said.
The acting president added that he will await the decision of the Constitutional Court. The ruling People Power Party, which has objected to the opposition-led impeachment of Han, said it had filed a constitutional petition.
The latest impeachment “suggests to the world the possibility that Korea’s political unrest could be prolonged and worsen,” Jeong Hoiok, a professor of political science at Myoungji University in Seoul, told the New York Times.
This would cause “significant harm to the diplomacy and economic status that Korea has built so far.”
Choi Sang-mok, to become interim president after latest impeachment
By law, the finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, will become interim president.
Choi had pleaded with opposition lawmakers not to go ahead with the motion. “An impeachment motion against the acting authority is no different from an impeachment motion against the entire cabinet,” he told a news conference with other cabinet members earlier on Friday.
“Our economy and people’s livelihoods, which are walking on thin ice in a national emergency, cannot bear the expansion of political uncertainty surrounding the acting authority.”…
Updated
South Korean won plummets
The South Korean won plummeted to 1,475.4 per dollar, down 0.53% ahead of the parliamentary vote.
“Impeaching Han would only mean prolonged political uncertainties,” said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.
“In terms of financial markets, (Choi) taking charge can only be bad news, as it only goes to show that political turmoil is ongoing.”
Updated
Han Duck-soo who was appointed prime minister by Yoon Suk Yeol. He became acting president after South Korea’s National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, a conservative, about two weeks ago over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3.
Han’s time as acting president quickly became mired in difficulties when he clashed with the opposition Democratic Party over appointments to the Constitutional Court, the inauguration of an independent investigation into Yoon’s martial law order, and new pro-farmer bills.
The main gripe is the Democratic Party’s demand that Han approve the assembly’s nominations of three new Constitutional Court justices to restore its full nine-member bench before it officially rules on Yoon’s impeachment.
The Democratic Party are pushing for more seats because having them will increase the likelihood of the court deciding to oust Yoon as president once and for all.
Naturally, Yoon’s supporters in the governing People Power Party are against the proposed appointment of the three justices, arguing that acting president Han should not flex his authority until Yoon has been formally removed from office.
Ahead of the parliamentary session, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said his Democratic Party, which has majority control of parliament, accused Han of “acting for insurrection.”
“The only way to normalize the country is to swiftly root out all the insurrection forces,” Lee said in an inflammatory speech, adding the party was acting to remove individuals who have put the country at risk.
Han’s impeachment means he will lose the duties and powers of the president until the Constitutional Court decides his future. The acting president could be dismissed or reinstated.
Lawmakers with the governing People Power Party boycotted the vote and shouted at sedentary National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik that the vote was “invalid” and demanded his resignation. No violence or injuries were reported.
People Power Party lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on Han’s impeachment motion after claiming its passage only needed a simple majority, not a two-thirds majority.
The National Assembly can impeach most South Korean officials with a simple majority vote, but two-thirds of the assembly need to agree to impeach a president.
However, there are no specific laws on the impeachment of an acting president.
Updated
The Korean won has plummeted to its lowest level against the dollar since 2008’s global financial crisis.
Updated
South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly has voted to impeach the country’s acting leader, Han Duck-soo.
The assembly approved the impeachment motion in a 192-0 vote on Friday. Governing party lawmakers boycotted the vote.
Han, the No 2 official in South Korea, has been the caretaker leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the assembly over his short-lived imposition of martial law this month.
Han’s impeachment further deepens South Korea’s political crisis and damages its international image.
Finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to replace Han as acting president.
We’ll bring you live updates on this breaking story…
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