South Korea’s Lawmakers Have Now Voted To Impeach The Acting President, Throwing Into Chaos Again

South Korean lawmakers have now voted to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo less than two weeks after they impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol for trying to declare martial law on Dec. 3.

Han, the prime minister, had been serving as the acting president after lawmakers voted to impeach and suspend Yoon on Dec. 14.

However, on Friday Dec. 26, opposition lawmakers voted to impeach Han as well.

The motion gained 192 votes, passing the majority of 151 needed despite the ruling party members boycotting the vote.

Opposition lawmakers had moved to impeach Han after he refused to appoint judges to fill three vacancies in the Constitutional Court, accusing him of delaying the process of impeaching Yoon.

Yoon is now facing a trial in the constitutional court, which has 180 days to decide whether he should be impeached.

This is because the court, which usually has nine judges, needs at least six judges' votes to remove Yoon.

However, it currently only has six judges after three retired earlier this year, meaning that only one judge has to vote against removing Yoon for the impeachment to be overturned.

The opposition had hoped that having nine judges would make it more likely for Yoon to get impeached, but Yoon's party had argued that only an elected president has the power to appoint judges.

Han had said that he would not appoint judges until all parties agreed on whether he had the authority to do so and was impeached as a result.

He has said he will respect the vote to impeach him and step aside and wait for the constitutional court's decision on his own impeachment.

“In order not to add to the confusion and uncertainty, I will suspend my duties in line with relevant laws, and wait for the swift and wise decision of the Constitutional Court,” he said in a statement.

Finance minister Choi Sang-mok, who is currently the deputy prime minister, will now be acting president.

This is the first time South Korea has impeached an interim leader, according to the New York Times.

More On This

Young People In South Korea Are Protesting Against The President With K-Pop Songs And Light Sticks

Light sticks from SHINee, EXO, NCT and other K-pop groups were spotted in the crowd of protesters.

AlmostSofia Hou

South Korea’s President Said He Is “Very Sorry” For Declaring Martial Law But Did Not Get Impeached

The two-minute address was Yoon’s first public appearance since he shocked the nation by declaring martial law on the evening of Dec. 3 to eliminate what he said was “anti-state” forces.

AlmostKassy Cho