South Korea’s acting president faces impeachment vote as currency plummets | Politics news

The main opposition Democratic Party’s attempt to suspend acting Han Dak-soo plunges the country into further uncertainty.

South Korea’s legislature is set to vote on the removal of its acting president, as ongoing turmoil in Asia’s fourth-largest economy has sent the won’s value plummeting to levels not seen since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.

The main opposition Democratic Party is seeking to impeach Prime Minister Han Dak-soo in a vote in the National Assembly on Friday after accusing the acting president of complicity in an attempted rebellion by suspended President Yoon Suk-yul.

The Democratic Party, which holds 170 seats in the 300-member Legislative Council, filed the impeachment request on Thursday after Han refused to fill three vacant judicial positions on the court that is scheduled to decide Yoon’s impeachment trial following his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Han’s People Power Party says only the elected president has the power to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court.

At least six justices on the court must uphold Yoon’s impeachment to remove him from office.

The court currently has only six justices after the retirement of three judges earlier this year, meaning the court would have to issue a unanimous ruling to strip Yoon of the presidency.

The court is scheduled to hold its first impeachment hearing on Yoon on Friday and it could take up to six months to issue its ruling.

Yoon, who defended the martial law declaration as legal and aimed at dealing with “anti-state forces,” is also under criminal investigation on suspicion of rebellion and abuse of power.

The attempt to remove Han, less than two weeks after he took office following Yoon’s removal, plunges South Korea into further political uncertainty as the country is still reeling from a martial law decree issued by Yoon on December 4.

While a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly is required to remove an incumbent president, there is no consensus on whether the same threshold applies to an interim leader.

The Pakistan People’s Party said two-thirds of lawmakers must approve Han’s impeachment.

The Democratic Party asserts that he could be suspended if 151 lawmakers support his removal, given that the Constitution stipulates the removal of Cabinet members by a simple majority of votes.

With the Democratic Party, small opposition parties and independents taking 192 seats, at least eight PPP lawmakers would need to cross the aisle to reach the two-thirds threshold.

If Han is impeached, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mook will assume the presidency.

Choe warned on Friday that removing Han would deal a serious blow to the country’s economic situation and urged the opposition to reconsider its attempt.

“The economy and people’s livelihoods are on thin ice under the national emergency, and they cannot handle any greater political uncertainty that would result from another acting president taking office,” Choi said.

The South Korean won fell sharply against the US dollar on Friday, falling below 1,480 won for the first time since March 2009.