Political strife erupts in South Korea as court decides fate of impeached Yun

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s acting leader vowed Tuesday to tell the world that things are returning to normal. impeachment of Congress conservative president Yoon Seok-yeol Opposing political parties are fighting over the appointment of a court judge who will decide whether to dismiss or reinstate Yoon.

The country’s liberal opposition-dominated parliament voted: impeach Last Saturday, Yun’s presidential powers were suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether he should remain in office over the brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. If Yoon is removed from office, a national election must be held within two months to choose his successor.

prime minister Han Deok Soo As acting leader, he took the following steps: reassure Stabilize the United States and other countries and markets. Presiding over a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, Han said: “We will continue to do our best to let the international community know that South Korea has rapidly regained stability and maintains trust with its partners.”

However, the country’s bitter political battles appear to be far from over, as rival parties have begun bickering over whether to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court.

How many judges will it take to unseat Yun?

A nine-member court panel will need the support of at least six judges to formally end Yun’s presidency. However, since three seats remain vacant even after his resignation, a unanimous vote in favor of impeachment will be required to remove Yun from office.

Three of the court’s nine judges are directly appointed by the president. The other three are nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and three more are nominated by Congress and then formally appointed by the president in what is widely seen as a procedural matter. The three currently vacant seats are scheduled to be nominated by the National Assembly, two by the Democratic Party and the other by Yun’s ruling People’s Power Party.

The court currently has only six judges who can decide on Yoon’s case. However, the main liberal opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, which led the impeachment effort against Yoon, said it would accelerate the process of restoring the court to its full capacity in order to promote fairness and public trust in the verdict.

PPP floor representative Kwon Sung-dong, who is a supporter of Mr. Yoon, caused controversy on Tuesday by expressing his opposition to the push to fill the three vacancies. He said it would be inappropriate for acting Mr. Han to appoint judges appointed by Congress, saying such power rests only with the president.

“The acting president can appoint Constitutional Court judges if there is a vacancy in the office of the president, but not if the president has just been suspended,” Kwen said.

Many observers say the court’s current six-member membership favors Mr. Yoon’s chances of staying on because it only requires one judge to reject Congress’ impeachment. They point out that one of the six judges, Chung Hyung-sik, is an obvious conservative who was directly appointed by Yoon.

Disputes over personnel affairs reveal deep rifts

The Democratic Party quickly dismissed Kweng’s claims as “ridiculous and utter nonsense” and called on the PPP to honor a November agreement between the two parties to appoint three Constitutional Court judges.

Cho Seung-rae, a party lawmaker and spokesperson, said the PPP “blatantly revealed its true intention to obstruct the constitutional trial.”

There was no immediate reaction from Han, but he emphasized at the cabinet meeting that the government would cooperate with the ruling and opposition parties to stabilize the economy.

There is no clear definition of what the acting president can and cannot do when it comes to appointing court judges. However, some experts point out that there is no legal provision preventing Han’s appointment, allowing the remaining three judges nominated by Congress to be appointed.

Constitutional Court Secretary-General Kim Jong-won told parliament on Tuesday that the court believes the acting president can exercise the power to appoint judges.

The Democratic Party has accused the PPP of trying to prolong the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to decide Yun’s fate.

Time is a critical issue for Democratic leaders Lee Jae Myung, Opinion polls show him favorite to win the presidential election if Yun is ousted, but he is grappling with his own legal problems. Lee could be barred from running for president if the appeals court and the Supreme Court uphold a lower court conviction for election law violations in November.

Yun faces charges of treason and abuse of power over his decision to impose martial law. Investigators have asked him to appear in court later this week for questioning, but officials visited Yoon’s office and residence on Monday. refused to accept Request his appearance.

of martial law The declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, saw hundreds of troops surround parliament and try to prevent lawmakers from voting on it. Still, many lawmakers managed to get into the National Assembly chamber and unanimously voted to overturn Yoon’s ordinance, forcing Yoon’s cabinet to lift it.

Yoon’s laws reminding us of past times military-backed dictatorship, It sparked massive street protests demanding his resignation, and his approval ratings plummeted as a result. Several people, including Yun’s defense minister, police chief, and other senior military officials, were arrested for their roles in enforcing martial law.

Yun’s supporters say his early resignation would deal a huge blow to the country’s conservatives, raising the possibility that he could lose a presidential by-election to liberals, as he did in 2017, when the then-conservative president was impeached. I am concerned that it is highly sexual. Park Geun Hye He was ousted and arrested due to a corruption scandal.