Seoul, South Korea — South Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach acting President Han Dak-soo, despite sharp protests from ruling party lawmakers, deepening the country's political crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk-yeol's stunning announcement introduction of martial law and next impeachment.
Khan's impeachment means that he will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides on his resignation or reinstatement. The court is already considering whether to uphold Yoon's previous impeachment. The impeachment of two of the country's top officials is exacerbating political turmoil, deepening economic uncertainty and damaging its international image.
The unicameral National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Khan by 192 votes to no. Lawmakers from the ruling People's Power Party boycotted the vote and gathered around the rostrum where Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik sat, shouting that the vote was “null and void” and demanding Woo's resignation. There are no reports of violence or casualties.
JUNG YEON-JE / AFP via Getty Images
PPP lawmakers protested after Wu called for a vote on Khan's impeachment motion after announcing that it would require a simple majority in the 300-member assembly, not a two-thirds majority as claimed by the PPP. Most South Korean officials can be impeached by the National Assembly with a simple majority vote, but impeachment of the president requires two-thirds support. There are no special laws on the impeachment of the acting president.
Khan's powers will be officially suspended when copies of the impeachment document are delivered to him and the Constitutional Court. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang Mok will take over.
Agence France-Presse notes that PPP leader Kweon Song-dong said after the vote that Khan “must continue to run state affairs without giving in to opposition to the impeachment motion.”
But in a statement, Khan said he “respected the decision of parliament” and would await the Constitutional Court's next decision on whether to uphold it.
JUNG YEON-JE / AFP via Getty Images
Khan, whom Yoon appointed prime minister, became acting president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the National Assembly about two weeks ago over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. Khan quickly clashed with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party as he resisted opposition efforts to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, launch an independent inquiry into Yun's martial law decree, and pass laws on farmers.
At the heart of the fighting is the Democratic Party's demand that Khan approve the assembly's nomination of three new Constitutional Court judges to restore its full nine-member bench before ruling on Yun's impeachment. This is a politically sensitive issue because the court's decision to remove Yun from the presidency requires the support of at least six justices, and the addition of new justices is likely to increase the prospect of Yun's ouster. Yun's political allies in the ruling People's Power Party oppose the appointment of the three judges, saying Khan should not use presidential powers to make the appointments until Yun has been formally removed from office.
On Thursday, Khan said he would not appoint judges without bipartisan agreement. The Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the assembly, has filed a motion to impeach Khan and passed bills calling for the appointment of three judges.
South Korean investigators are looking into whether Yoon committed sedition and abuse of power with his marriage law decree. His defense minister, police chief and several other top military commanders have already been arrested for deploying troops and police in the National Assembly, sparking a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and unanimously voted to repeal Yun's decree.