Seoul, Mar 25: South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Monday overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation’s No. 2 official as acting leader, while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.Many observers said Monday’s ruling doesn’t signal much on the upcoming verdict on Yoon, as Han wasn’t a key figure in Yoon’s martial law imposition. But it could still embolden Yoon’s staunch supporters and ramp up their political offensive on the opposition.
Han became acting president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly over his December 3 imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis. But Han was impeached by the assembly as well in late December following political strife with opposition lawmakers.
The unprecedented, successive impeachments that suspended the country’s top two officials intensified a domestic division and deepened worries about the country’s diplomatic and economic activities. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, had since serving as acting president.
On Monday, seven of the court’s eight justices overturned or dismissed Han’s impeachment. They ruled the accusations against him weren’t against the law or weren’t serious enough to remove him from office or his impeachment motion didn’t even meet a required quorum when it passed thorough the assembly. One justice upheld Han’s impeachment.
Dismissing Han would have needed the support of at least six court justices.
Following his reinstatement, Han told reporters he would focus on the “most urgent matters,” including a fast-changing global trade environment, in an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s aggressive trade policies. He also called for a national unity, saying “there’s no left or right — what matters is the advancement of our nation.”
The court has yet to rule on Yoon’s impeachment. If the court upholds Yoon’s impeachment, South Korea must hold an election for a new president. If it rules for him, Yoon will be restored to office and regain his presidential powers.
Yoon was impeached about two weeks earlier than Han. Observers earlier predicted the Constitutional Court would rule on Yoon’s case in mid-March but it hasn’t done so.
