Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. File
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, second from right, who became the country’s acting leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, salutes during a cabinet meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 24, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s main opposition party said on Tuesday (December 24, 2024) it will seek to impeach acting leader Mr. Han Duck-soo after he missed an opposition-set deadline to approve independent investigations into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife.

If realised, Mr. Han’s impeachment would further deepen South Korea’s political tumult and worries by neighbouring countries caused by Mr. Yoon’s stunning December 3 (2024) martial law declaration and ensuing impeachment. Since Yoon’s impeachment, Mr. Han, the country’s No. 2 official, has taken over presidential powers and duties. If he’s impeached too, the Finance Minister is next in line.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in Parliament, has slammed Mr. Han for vetoing several opposition-sponsored bills, including a controversial agriculture bill. It also urged Mr. Han to quickly appoint justices to vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, which is reviewing Mr. Yoon’s impeachment and will determine whether to dismiss or reinstate him.

Filling the Court’s three empty posts could make conviction more likely, as it requires the support of six of the Court’s nine possible members.

The Democratic Party also demanded that Mr. Han approve bills calling for the appointment of special prosecutors to investigate Mr. Yoon for rebellion over his marital law decree and his wife for corruption and other allegations by Tuesday (Dec. 24). But Mr. Han didn’t do so during Tuesday’s Cabinet Council meeting, calling for the ruling and opposition parties to negotiate.

The Democratic Party floor leader, Mr. Park Chan-dae, responded that there was no room for negotiations about a Mr. Yoon investigation and that his party would begin steps toward an impeachment immediately.

“We’ve clearly warned that it’s totally up to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo whether he would go down in history as a disgraceful figure as a puppet of rebellion plot leader Yoon Suk Yeol or a public servant that has faithfully carried out the orders by the public,” Mr. Park told a televised party meeting.

Korean prosecutors and other officials are separately probing whether Mr. Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power, but he’s ignored requests by investigative agencies to appear for questioning and allow searches of his office.

Mr. Yoon’s Defence Minister, Police Chief, and several other senior Military Commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police officers to the National Assembly, which prompted a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and voted unanimously to overrule Mr. Yoon’s decree.

The governing People Power Party said that the opposition’s impeachment threats are interfering with Mr. Han’s “legitimate exercise of authority.” Floor leader Mr. Kweon Seong-dong, a Mr. Yoon loyalist, said the Democratic Party’s “politics of intimidation have reached their peak.”

An impeachment vote would face legal ambiguities. Most Korean officials can be impeached with a simple majority of parliament, but impeaching the presidents takes two-thirds. The rival parties differ on which standard would apply to an acting president.

The Democratic Party controls 170 of the National Assembly’s 300 seats, so it would need support from members of other parties including Mr. Yoon’s own to get a two-thirds majority.

The Constitutional Court has up to six months to determine Mr. Yoon’s fate. If he’s thrown off office, a National election to find his successor must take place within two months.