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South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament has impeached its acting president, plunging the country into further political turmoil.
Lawmakers on Friday passed a motion to impeach Han, who is also prime minister, after he resisted pressure to appoint three judges to fill a vacancy on the Constitutional Court.
This is the first time an acting president has been impeached in South Korea, less than two weeks after President Yoon Seok-yeol was suspended from office for failing to impose martial law, shocking the country.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok became acting president, the third national leader in less than a month.
Choe asked the military to be more vigilant, warning that North Korea could take advantage of the country’s political situation. “It is very important to minimize chaos in the country. I will try my best to stabilize the country’s affairs,” he said in a statement.
President South Korea’s impeachment vote comes as the Constitutional Court opens hearings on Yun’s impeachment over his brief attempt to restore military rule this month. The court has six months to decide whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment or reinstate him.
Analysts say growing political unrest is increasing economic risks at a time when export momentum is slowing and the United States faces higher tariffs when Donald Trump takes office next month.
The South Korean won fell 0.5% against the dollar on Friday to its lowest level since 2009, while the Kospi fell 1% on foreign selling.
Shin Yool, a political science professor at Myongji University in Seoul, said: “There are some legal uncertainties about the conditions required to impeach the acting president, but in any case, impeaching Han Kuo-yu may increase concerns about the external credibility of the economy.”
Impeachment of the prime minister requires a simple majority vote in parliament, but the ruling party claimed that the vote was invalid and proposed an impeachment ban, arguing that the two-thirds majority required to impeach the president should also apply to the acting president.
Han Guoyu said that he respects the parliament’s decision and will wait for the Constitutional Court to rule on whether to confirm his impeachment.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, accused the South Korean president of “engaging in insurgent activities.”
Han, a career bureaucrat and Yin appointee, refused to approve the three judges on the nine-member court until the ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement on the appointments.
Yoon’s conservative ruling People’s Power party this week boycotted an opposition-led vote seeking to appoint judges.
In principle, the court requires seven justices to consider impeachment and at least six votes to remove a president.
But the court currently has only six members, meaning only one dissenting vote is needed to overturn Yin’s impeachment. The terms of two judges are also set to expire in April.
The Constitutional Court said it could proceed without a full bench of judges.
But Democrats have warned of a series of impeachments against Cabinet members before they fill three vacancies on the court.
Yin, who denies any wrongdoing, is facing a third summons from the country’s anti-corruption agency to be questioned on charges of treason and abuse of power.
Prosecutors on Friday also accused former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun of spearheading the imposition of martial law.
