hankyoreh

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is currently the acting president of South Korea, listens to interpretation services at a luncheon roundtable with the Seoul Japan Club held at his official residence on Dec. 24, 2024. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s acting president finds himself at the crossroads of a potential impeachment over the issue of appointing justices to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court.

The Democratic Party announced Thursday that it intends to pursue an impeachment vote against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo — now the country’s acting leader after President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached — on Friday afternoon after Han said he would be holding off on the appointment of justices to the Constitutional Court until the rival political camps reached an agreement on the matter and submitted a joint measure.

The Democratic Party has repeatedly stated that Han’s failure to appoint nominees Ma Eun-hyeok, Jeong Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang to the Constitutional Court would result in them seeking his impeachment.

Many observers are predicting South Korea could find itself in the unprecedented situation of having an “acting acting president.”

Kwon Young-se, who has been designated to head the emergency interim leadership committee of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), stated his plan to submit a constitutional appeal if the motion to consent to the justices’ appointment passes the National Assembly. Many critics suggested that as a party bearing responsibility for what many deem an insurrection attempt on Dec. 3, Han is exacerbating the chaos under the protection of a party that refuses to acknowledge that the martial law declaration constituted insurrection.

Meeting with reporters at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Democratic Party spokesperson Han Min-soo said, “We urge Acting President Han to immediately appoint the three Constitutional Court candidates once their National Assembly ratification procedures are complete on Dec. 26.”

The National Assembly was set to vote on the Constitution Court nominees’ ratification at a regular session on Thursday. With a quorum of at least half of all registered members being present and at least half of all those present voting in favor, the 170 members of the Democratic Party would be able to pass the bill on their own.

“It is not easy to investigate or arrest a president who has not been relieved of their duties,” explained a Democratic Party parliamentary official.

“The most pressing order of business is to complete the Constitutional Court with [a full] nine justices so that the impeachment trial can be resolved quickly,” they added.

On Tuesday, the Democratic Party announced plans to report an impeachment motion for Han at the regular session on Friday. On Wednesday, it said it intended to pass the impeachment motion as early as Saturday. An impeachment motion must be voted on within 24 to 72 hours after its reporting at the National Assembly’s regular session.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik has reportedly expressed that he views the Constitutional Court justice appointment issue as being highly important and is strongly committed to holding a vote on the impeachment at a regular session on Saturday or Monday even in the face of PPP objections.

Han does not appear to have shifted in the position he expressed at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where he said he rejected the idea of appointing additional justices and called it a “matter where political opinions clash with legal interpretations.”

An official with the prime minister’s office said Wednesday that Han “has no outside schedule today and is currently giving the matter consideration.”

“He needs time to consider things, and we will also need to see the situation in terms of ruling and opposition party discussions,” they added.

Commenting on this, a prominent Democratic Party lawmaker said, “Our state affairs have collapsed because [Han] has been unable to either assist or persuade the president properly as prime minister.”

“Does it make any sense for him to try to control the country as he sees fit?” they asked.

Han believes that with the National Assembly playing the part of the prosecution in Yoon’s impeachment trial before the Constitutional Court, it is problematic for it to be involved in appointing the justices who would serve as judges in that case. His complaint is that Ma, Jeong, and Cho were nominated by the National Assembly, which aligns with the position stated by PPP leader Kweon Seong-dong, who has been working to shield Yoon.

On Wednesday, Kwon said that if the motion to ratify the justices’ nominations passed the National Assembly, he would request a constitutional appeal hearing on whether Han would be allowed to appoint them.

“Impeachment seems to be the fashion, where any party is able to try to impeach a president. We need to clarify things in constitutional terms,” Kwon said.

But in an interpolation session before the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Dec. 17, Constitutional Court Secretary-General Kim Jung-won effectively stated that the appointment of three justices was the decision of the National Assembly and would not be in violation of constitutional principles. The Supreme Court gave a similar response on Wednesday when asked about the matter by Democratic Party lawmaker Back Hye-ryun.

As reasons for Han’s attitude, some observers have suggested that political calculations are at play: viewing punishment in connection with the insurrection as unavoidable, he views it as preferable to look only to the PPP and conservative voters even if he proceeds with the justices’ appointment as the Democratic Party is demanding.

In a radio appearance Wednesday on MBC, Democratic Party senior deputy floor leader Park Sung-joon said, “I’m sure there were determinations about the current lay of the political landscape [on Han’s part].”

“He has probably been factoring in the things that would be uncovered by an additional investigation in connection with the insurrection,” he suggested.

Another factor in Han’s situation is the debate over whether the quorum for impeaching him is the minimum of two-thirds of registered National Assembly members (200), as in the case of a president, or merely a majority of 151 registered members, as in the case of a prime minister.

The Democratic Party views an impeachment as being possible with 151 votes, citing Han’s involvement as prime minister in the Dec. 3 insurrection as being grounds for impeachment. Han himself has reportedly leaned toward the interpretation that 200 votes would be required. Achieving 200 votes would require at least eight PPP lawmakers to break with their party’s platform.

Some have also been cautiously raising the possibility that Han could decide at the last minute to go ahead with appointing the justices.

If Han does find himself impeached, this would result in the unprecedented situation of the role of acting president being passed on to the deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, a position currently held by Choi Sang-mok. The quorum debate could also lead to a legal battle and drag the situation out under even more chaotic circumstances.

For this reason, even some PPP members have suggested that Han should proceed with appointing the justices.

In a Wednesday radio appearance on BBS, PPP spokesperson Park Sang-su, who belongs to the party’s Han Dong-hoon wing, observed, “If we pass April 18 of next year without appointing Constitutional Court justices, the terms of two current members will expire, and with only four justices, the Constitutional Court will be completely incapacitated.”

Some analysts have speculated that Han may find it difficult to undergo a Constitutional Court impeachment hearing when he is already the target of investigation in connection with the insurrection.

By Jang Na-rye, staff reporter; Ko Han-sol, staff reporter; Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

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