The opposition in South Korea intends to vote to remove acting President Han, by Reuters

Written by Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s main opposition party introduced a bill to impeach interim President Han Dak-soo on Thursday, a day before he plans to seek a vote on the move, which could exacerbate a constitutional crisis sparked by a short-lived military election. law.

The opposition Democratic Party had threatened to impeach Han if he did not immediately appoint three judges to fill vacant positions on the Constitutional Court. Parliament backed three candidates on Thursday, but Han has not yet formally appointed them.

The court is trying the case of the impeachment of President Yeon Suk-yeol over his declaration of martial law on December 3.

“It has become clear that Prime Minister and Acting President Han Dak-soo does not have the qualifications or the will to protect the Constitution,” Democratic Party leader Park Chan-dae said in a statement.

The impeachment motion, which must be voted on within 24 to 72 hours, cited a range of actions taken by Hahn as grounds for his removal, including his veto of a special prosecutor bill to investigate alleged wrongdoing by the first lady.

If Han is impeached, the Finance Minister will assume the acting presidency.

The Democratic Party controls the majority in Parliament, but there is disagreement between the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is needed to remove the acting president.

The interim leader of Yoon’s ruling party, Kwon Young-se, told reporters that removing Han would be a mistake that would push the economy into a “major crisis,” possibly by sparking a financial crisis, Yonhap News Agency quoted Yoon’s interim leader, Kwon Young-se, as telling reporters.

Earlier on Thursday, Hahn said he would not appoint judges until political parties agreed on the appointments, saying doing so without such consensus would harm the constitutional order.

Two of the proposed judicial appointees approved Thursday were nominated by the Democratic Party and one from Han’s ruling People Power Party. The ruling party objected to this distribution of candidates, saying that it did not agree to it.

Han is under pressure to make the appointments, but political parties disagreed over whether he has the authority to do so as acting president.

The court is scheduled to hold its first session on Friday in the trial to decide whether to remove Yoon or return him to his position.

Under the Constitution, six justices must agree to impeach an impeached president, meaning the sitting justices must vote unanimously to impeach Yoon. The court said it could deliberate without the nine-member bench.

Yoon, who was impeached by parliament on December 14 in a vote joined by some members of his center-right party, had not responded to a court request to submit legal papers as of Thursday, party spokesman Lee Jin told a news conference.

He did not respond Wednesday to the latest subpoenas for questioning in a separate criminal investigation. Investigators sent him another summons on Thursday to appear on December 29.

Yoon’s repeated defiance sparked criticism and calls from the opposition for his arrest.

Earlier on Thursday, lawyers for former Defense Minister Leon, who is being investigated on rebellion charges over the declaration of martial law, said the aim was to raise concern about opposition parties’ abuse of the democratic process.

Kim Young-hyun, the first official to be arrested, is likely to be the first to face indictment as a central figure in Yoon’s sudden declaration of martial law.