Prime Minister Han impeached by National Assembly

Prime Minister Han impeached by National Assembly. December. 28, 2024 07:27. by ??? ??, ??? ?? empty@donga.com.
The impeachment bill against Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo was passed at the National Assembly on Friday with opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea leading the passage process. This marks the first time in constitutional history that the Korean National Assembly passed an impeachment bill against the acting president. With the Prime Minister accepting to suspend his duties according to the bill, Choi Sang-mok, the Minister of Economy and Finance as well as the Vice Prime Minister, stepped in as the acting president.

During the National Assembly regular session through which the bill was passed, opposition parties spanning the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, and the New Reform Party got together to vote for the bill with the unanimous approval of 192 lawmakers in attendance. The ruling People Power Party decided to oppose the motion as a party-wide stance and boycott the session but some of them participated in the voting.

Both political and legal communities have been debating over whether the impeachment motion required the majority threshold for a prime minister (151 seats) or the two-thirds threshold (200 seats) applied to a president. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik clarified the quorum for passing the bill as 151 lawmakers voting for the impeaching because the impeachment motion is a request to dismiss the individual holding the office, and in this case, the target is the prime minister who exercises the powers of the president.

In his statement immediately following the passage, Han issued a statement expressing regret over what he described as the 29th impeachment motion against this administration. Nevertheless, he noted that he respected the decision made by the National Assembly and would suspend his duties based on the applicable laws to avoid any further chaos and uncertainties. He also waited for a prompt and wise ruling from the Constitutional Court. The ruling party is reportedly planning to file a jurisdiction dispute adjudication with the Constitutional Court, suggesting that the matter of the threshold for impeachment will ultimately be resolved by the court.