South Korea’s leadership crisis in hands of Constitutional Court

SEOUL: South Korea’s leadership crisis will play out in the Constitutional Court, which will decide the fate of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, both impeached and suspended from power over a short-lived martial law.

Han, who was impeached on Friday (Dec 27), had taken over as acting president from Yoon, impeached on Dec 14. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok now becomes acting president under the law.

Also on Friday, the court held its first hearing in a case to decide whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him permanently from power.

The ruling conservative People Power Party filed a court injunction after the vote to impeach Han, saying a simple majority was not sufficient to impeach an acting president.

WHAT NEXT?

After being impeached on Dec 14, Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended but he remains in office, retaining his immunity from most charges except insurrection or treason.

The Constitutional Court must decide within 180 days whether to remove him from office or reject the impeachment and restore his powers. If it removes Yoon or he resigns, a presidential election must be held within 60 days.

Opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, the head of parliament’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, is leading the case for removing Yoon.

Yoon’s legal counsel included former Constitutional Court spokesperson Bae Bo-yoon and former prosecutor Yoon Kab-keun, who appeared at Friday’s hearing.

The court is also expected to hold a trial on whether to remove Han from office or restore him to his role.