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Impeachment of Han Duck-soo
On 27 December 2024, South Korean Prime Minister and acting president Han Duck-soo was impeached. The efforts came 10 days after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached as a result of his brief enactment of martial law earlier that month, leading Han to become acting president in his stead. Opposition Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Chan-dae announced plans to impeach Han on 24 December after he declined to approve two bills appointing special counsels to investigate Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee. The motion was formally filed on 26 December after Han blocked the appointment of three justices to the Constitutional Court of Korea whose nomination was approved by the National Assembly. Han was unanimously impeached by all 192 opposition MPs on 27 December after Speaker Woo Won-shik ruled that Han could be impeached by a simple majority due to his status as a cabinet minister. The remaining 108 MPs, who were all members of Yoon's People Power Party (PPP), boycotted the vote. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok assumed the roles of acting president and acting prime minister pending the Constitutional Court's decision on whether to remove Han from office. Background_(cropped).jpg) The 1987 constitution established South Korea as governed as a presidential democracy. Only one Korean president had been removed from office through impeachment (Park Geun-hye in 2017), which requires a two-thirds majority voting in favor in the legislature.[1] Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in 2004, but the Constitutional Court acquitted him of two infractions and deemed the remaining charge not serious enough to warrant removal, allowing him to remain in office.[2] Impeachment procedureThe procedure for impeachment was established in the 10th Constitution of South Korea (1987) Article 65, Clause 1, specifies that the National Assembly may impeach the president, prime minister, or other state officials if they violate the constitution or other laws while performing official duties.[3][4] For an impeachment motion against a sitting president to pass, a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly – 200 out of 300 members – must vote in favor.[5] Once passed, the individual is immediately suspended from their duties pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Korea. The scope of impeachment is limited to removal from public office, with no further penalties imposed through this process.[6] However, as Han is an acting president, disputes have arisen in the National Assembly as to how many votes are needed to impeach him, with the People Power Party (PPP) saying that two-thirds of legislators must approve the motion, and the opposition Democratic Party (DPK) saying that a simple majority is required, citing Han's status as a cabinet minister.[7] Furthermore, no specific laws exist on dealing with the impeachment of an acting president.[8] According to the Constitutional Court Act passed in 1988, the Constitutional Court must render a decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the decision, the case is dismissed.[6] Formal removal of the president requires six of the nine justices voting in favor; due to three vacancies, all six justices would have to vote to remove him. Article 23 of the Constitutional Court Act requires at least seven justices for deliberation.[5] On 14 October 2024, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the required deliberation quorum of seven justices, citing the constitutional right to a speedy trial, allowing itself to move forward.[9] Debates have arisen in the National Assembly on whether acting president Han Duck-soo is entitled to fill the vacant seats, with the DPK supporting it[10] and the PPP opposing it on the grounds that an acting president can only appoint justices only in the event of a presidential vacancy, not a suspension of duties.[11] Han's impeachment is the 16th to be received by the Constitutional Court since its establishment in 1988 and the 13th since impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in 2022.[12] Impeachment of Yoon and acting presidency of Han Duck-sooOn 14 December 2024, Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, was impeached by the National Assembly. This action came in response to Yoon's declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024, which was overturned by the National Assembly and officially withdrawn six hours later on 4 December 2024.[13] Incumbent Prime Minister Han Duck-soo assumed the role of acting president pending the Constitutional Court's decision on whether to remove Yoon from office.[14] An earlier impeachment motion was put to a parliamentary vote on 7 December 2024 but failed because the number of attending legislators did not meet the quorum required for its passage, as members of the ruling PPP boycotted the vote.[15] When Han was being asked by police for questioning in its investigation of martial law, DPK Leader Lee Jae-myung initially said that the party would not move to impeach Han for the time being to avoid As acting president, Han came into conflict with opposition parties. On 19 December, he vetoed six bills passed by the National Assembly that had been sponsored by the DPK. Among the bills vetoed were proposed amendments to the Grain Management Act, which would have required the government to purchase surplus rice to stabilize prices during market fluctuations. Han cited concerns over its effect on the market as a reason for vetoing the bill. Other measures he vetoed included a bill requiring companies to submit requested data to members of the National Assembly, saying that it was an invasion of constitutional rights to privacy.[18] Motion
 After Han's cabinet meeting on 24 December ended without reviewing two bills appointing special counsels to investigate suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, DPK Floor Leader Park Chan-dae announced plans to impeach Han on 24 December. Park described Han's actions as Prior to the vote, Speaker Woo Won-shik ruled that Han can be impeached by a simple majority of 151 due to his status as a cabinet minister, as opposed to the 200 normally required for presidential impeachments. PPP lawmakers opposed Woo's decision, calling for his resignation and declaring his ruling invalid while chanting AftermathHan said he respected the outcome of the vote in the National Assembly and would await the Constitutional Court's verdict, adding that he would suspend his duties to On 30 December, the Constitutional Court released a statement saying that a majority of its justices believed that the process in which Han was impeached was valid.[29] On 31 December, acting president, finance minister, and deputy prime minister, Choi Sang-mok appointed Jeong Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang to the Constitutional Court but withheld the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk,[30] citing lack of bipartisan support for his nomination. The move drew criticism from both the PPP, which had argued acting presidents could not appoint justices, and the DPK, which supported the appointment of all three nominees.[31] Constitutional Court trialThe Constitutional Court of Korea has 180 days from the passage of the impeachment motion to review it. The court is currently composed of only eight justices. It is scheduled to hold its first pre-trial hearing into Han's impeachment on 13 January.[32] ReactionsDeputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who succeeded Han as acting president upon the impeachment, warned prior to the 27 December vote that impeaching Han would seriously affect South Korea's economic standing and called on opposition parties to reconsider.[7] Choi Sang-mok stated Opinion pollingOpinion polling with a sampling size of a thousand released by The Korea Times and Hankook Research on 31 December 2024 found that 61% of respondents supported Han's impeachment (45% strongly approved) while 36% were opposed. By political party affiliation, 95% of DPK supporters, 96% of Rebuilding Korea Party supporters, and 80% of Progressive Party supporters favored Han's impeachment. PPP supporters accounted for 87% of those opposed to Han's impeachment. By age, 60–70% of respondents in all age groups under 60 years of age supported the impeachment, while over 50% of those aged 60 or older opposed it. A poll by Opinion Research Justice a week earlier found 52.2% in support of impeachment.[34] In light of the impeachments of Han Duck-soo and Yoon Suk Yeol, 56% of people in another survey said they wanted some reform of the presidency, either by reducing some of the president's current powers, such as that of the veto, or by transitioning to a semi-presidential system of government, while 17% of those in favor of reform also backed a change so that the president is elected by a majority of voters rather than a plurality.[35] References
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