By Josh Smith and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s acting president faces an impeachment vote on Friday, intensifying a political crisis as the Constitutional Court meets for its first hearing on suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law.
Pressure to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has served as president since Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14, has thrown South Korea’s once vibrant democratic success story into uncharted territory and is being watched with concern by allies.
The plan to vote to impeach Han was unveiled by the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday after he refused to immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, saying it would exceed his acting role.
It remains unclear how many votes are needed to remove Han as acting leader. The threshold for the prime minister is a simple majority, while a two-thirds majority is required for the president. It is also unclear whether Han and the ruling party will accept either outcome.
If Han is suspended, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will take over as president by law.
Choi said on Friday that impeaching the country’s acting president would seriously damage the country’s economic credibility and asked political parties to withdraw the plan. Choi spoke on behalf of the country’s government, alongside ministers.
Early on Friday, South Korea’s won weakened to its lowest level since March 2009, as analysts said there was little to reverse the negative sentiment stemming from political uncertainty.
The vote on Han’s fate comes around the time the Constitutional Court will hold its first hearing on Friday in the case to consider whether to reinstate Yoon or permanently remove him from office, following the impeachment vote in parliament. He has 180 days to make a decision.
After weeks of defiantly ignoring court requests to produce documents as well as subpoenas from investigators in a separate criminal case over his Dec. 3 state of emergency declaration, Yoon’s lawyer said his legal representatives would attend Friday’s hearing.
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon, has appointed two lawyers to Yoon’s legal team, one a former prosecutor and the other a former spokesman for the Constitutional Court. The two could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yoon is not required to attend the hearing. If he is removed, new presidential elections will be held within 60 days.
THE WORST POLITICAL CRISIS IN DECADES
Events following the declaration of a state of emergency on December 3 plunged the country into its worst political crisis since 1987, when widespread protests forced the ruling party of former army generals to accept a constitutional amendment that led to a direct popular vote to elect the president.
The turmoil also spilled over into financial markets. Yoon shocked the country and the world with a late-night announcement on Dec. 3 that he was imposing martial law to overcome political gridlock and root out “anti-state forces.”
The military deployed special forces to the national assembly, the electoral commission and the office of a liberal YouTube commentator.
He also issued orders banning parliament and political parties, as well as calling for government control of the media.
But within hours, 190 lawmakers defied military and police cordons and voted against Yoon’s order. About six hours after his initial decree, the president revoked the order.
Yoon and senior members of his administration also face criminal investigations for sedition over their decision to impose martial law.
