South Korea’s main opposition party said on Thursday it would introduce a bill to impeach acting President Han Deok-soo and vote on it on Friday, a move that could deepen the country’s constitutional crisis triggered by short-term martial law.
The opposition Democratic Party threatened to impeach Han if he did not immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court. Parliament voted in favor of three candidates on Thursday, but they have yet to be formally appointed by Han.
The court is trying to impeach President Eun Suk Yeol for declaring martial law on December 3.
“It has become clear that Prime Minister and Acting President Han Deok-su do not have the ability or the will to defend the constitution,” Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said in a statement.
If Han is impeached, the finance minister will assume the acting presidency. The Democratic Party has a majority in parliament, but there is disagreement among the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or two-thirds vote is needed to impeach an acting president.
Han said earlier on Thursday that he would not appoint a judge until the political parties agreed on the appointment, saying that doing so without political agreement would harm the constitutional order.
Two nominees for the constitutional court for Thursday’s vote were nominated by the Democratic Party and one by Han’s ruling People Power Party. The ruling party has objected saying that there is no agreement on dissolution.
There is pressure to appoint Han, but political parties disagree on whether he has the authority to do so as acting president.
The court is set to hold its first hearing on Friday to decide whether to remove or reinstate Yun.
Under the constitution, six justices must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Yun. The court said that it can be discussed without a full bench.
Yun, who was impeached by parliament in a Dec. 14 vote along with some members of his center-right party, had not submitted legal documents as requested by the court by Thursday, court spokesman Lee Jin said at a media briefing.
On Wednesday, he did not respond to a subsequent summons for questioning in a separate criminal investigation.
Yun’s repeated defiance has drawn opposition criticism and calls for his arrest.
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