Court reinstates impeached South Korean PM as acting president
South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Monday dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating him back as the South Korean acting president — a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.
This court ruling is the latest development in South Korea’s complex and sprawling political crisis, which President Yoon Suk Yeol started with a short-lived attempt to subvert civilian rule in December.
Lawmakers defied armed soldiers at parliament to vote down President Yoon’s December 3 martial law declaration and impeached him soon after, leading to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepping in as acting president. But he was himself impeached by lawmakers just weeks after taking over due to his purported involvement in the martial law debacle, plus a dispute over judicial appointments.
“The Constitutional Court has rendered a decision to reject the impeachment trial request against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo,” the court said Monday in a statement.
The court ruled five-to-one against Han’s impeachment, with two judges arguing the case should not have made it to court as lawmakers did not have a super majority to impeach him in the first place.
Han’s actions while in office “cannot be seen as constituting a betrayal of the people’s trust indirectly granted through the President,” the court ruled.
The decision is effective immediately and cannot be appealed.
Han, who immediately resumed acting presidency on Monday, thanked the Constitutional Court for its “wise decision”.
“I believe that all citizens are clearly speaking out against the highly polarised political sphere. I think there is no place for division now. Our country’s priority is to move forward,” he added.
President Yoon impeachment ruling
The court’s decision was closely watched as it comes ahead of the highly anticipated ruling on suspended President Yoon’s impeachment, which the date has not yet been announced.
Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case. Despite experts predicting a verdict on that case by mid-March, the Constitutional Court has yet to rule, making Yoon’s case the longest deliberation in its history.
The leader of the opposition, Lee Jae-myung, said the verdict on Han should not be “disrespected” but urged the Constitutional Court to move more swiftly on Yoon’s case.
“The entire nation is losing sleep over Yoon Suk Yeol’s illegal military coup,” he said, adding it was “hard to fathom why the Constitutional Court continues to postpone the ruling date.”
“Every day, every hour, every minute, every second, the international trust in the Republic of Korea is being broken, the economic damage is mounting,” he added.
If Yoon’s impeachment is upheld, South Korea must hold fresh elections within 60 days of the verdict.
