The opposition in South Korea submits a request to impeach the acting president Politics news

The opposition is seeking to remove Han Dak-soo for not appointing judges to the Constitutional Court.

South Korea’s main opposition party has filed a motion to impeach the interim president. – Deepening political unrest In an East Asian country.

The Democratic Party said it filed a request on Thursday over Acting President Han Dak Su’s reluctance to fill three vacant positions on the Constitutional Court ahead of the court session. Review accusations of rebellion Against impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol.

“We have submitted the proposal… and we will report it to the plenary session today,” Rep. Park Sung-joon told reporters at the National Assembly regarding the action taken against Han. “We will put it to a vote tomorrow.”

South Korea was plunged into a political crisis after President Yeon Suk-yeol declared martial law on December 3.

Yoon was stripped of his duties by Parliament on December 14 over the sensational announcement, but a Constitutional Court ruling upholding the lawmakers’ decision is necessary to complete the impeachment process.

However, the court currently suffers from a shortage of three judges. Although it can move forward with its six members on the bench, a single dissenting vote would put Yoon back in office.

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed motions calling for the appointment of the three judges as the court prepares to begin deliberations on whether to remove Yoon or restore him to office.

The vote came shortly after Hahn confirmed in a televised statement that he would not appoint judges without bipartisan approval, leaving the two parties deadlocked.

Therefore, the opposition Democratic Party wants to impeach the acting president as well.

Park Chan-dae, leader of the Democratic Party bloc, told reporters that Han’s refusal to formally appoint the three judges proves that he “does not have the will or qualifications to uphold the constitution.”

Han insisted that he would not ratify the judges’ appointments unless the ruling People Power Party and the opposition reached a compromise on the candidates.

“The consistent spirit reflected in our Constitution and laws is that the acting president should focus on maintaining stability in governance to help the country overcome the crisis while refraining from exercising significant powers exclusive to the president, including appointments to constitutional institutions,” Hahn said.

The crisis escalates

If the opposition passes the motion to remove Han in a vote on Friday, it will be the first time that the democratic South Korea has removed an acting president. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will serve as acting president.

Earlier this week, Han rejected the opposition’s request for special bills that would establish two independent investigative bodies to investigate Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law and corruption allegations involving his wife Kim Keun-hee, sparking warnings of impeachment from the Democratic Party. .

The impeachment motion says Han “deliberately avoids a special investigation to investigate those involved in the rebellion, and has clearly stated his intention to reject the appointments of three judges to the Constitutional Court.”

The report adds that such actions “violate the public employee’s duty to respect the law…and serve the public.”

Yun has risen again and again Avoid law enforcement requests To appear for questioning regarding charges of rebellion, he also obstructed attempts to search his office.

The Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau, which is leading a joint investigation alongside police and military authorities, summoned Yoon for questioning on Sunday after he failed to comply with an earlier request to appear on Christmas Day.