Political strife erupts over South Korean court as it is set to determine fate of impeached Yoon

South Korea’s acting leader reassures stability after President’s impeachment, as rival parties clash over court ruling mechanics

South Korea’s acting leader vowed Tuesday (December 17, 2024) to convey to the world that things are back to normal following parliament’s impeachment of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, but rival parties began squabbling over the mechanics of a court ruling to determine whether to formally unseat or reinstate him.

The country’s liberal opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach Mr. Yoon last Saturday (December 14, 2024) over his short-lived December 3 martial law imposition, suspending his presidential powers until the Constitutional Court determines whether to uphold or overturn the decision. If Mr. Yoon is dismissed, a national election must be held to pick his successor within two months.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting leader, has taken steps to reassure the US and other countries and stabilise markets. Presiding over a Cabinet Council meeting on Tuesday (December 17, 2024), Mr. Han said he will “continuously do my utmost to inform the international society that the Republic of Korea is fast regaining stability and maintain confidence with partners.”

But the country’s intense political strife appears to be far from over, as the rival parties began bickering over whether to fill three vacant justices’ seats at the Constitutional Court.

To formally end Mr. Yoon’s presidency, the nine-member court panel needs support from at least six justices. But since three seats remain vacant following retirements, a unanimous decision in favour of Mr. Yoon’s impeachment is required to throw him out of office for good.

Three of the court’s nine justices are directly appointed by the president. Three others are nominated by the Supreme Court head and another three by the National Assembly, and their formal appointments by the president has widely been a formality. The three seats that are currently open are to be nominated by the National Assembly – two by the Democratic Party and the other by Mr. Yoon’s ruling People Power Party.

The court can rule on Mr. Yoon’s case only with the current six justices. But the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led the impeachment efforts against Mr. Yoon, has said it would speed up the process of restoring the court’s nine-justice system to promote fairness and public confidence in its ruling.

But PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, a Mr. Yoon loyalist, created a stir Tuesday (December 17, 2024) as he voiced his objection to a Democratic Party push to fill the three vacancies. He said it would be inappropriate for Mr. Han, the acting leader, to appoint justices nominated by parliament, saying such authorities solely rest with the president.

“An acting president can appoint Constitutional Court justices when there is a presidential vacancy, but not when the president’s duties are just suspended,” Kweon said.

Many observers say the court’s current six-member configuration is advantageous for Mr. Yoon’s chances to return to office, as it would only require a single justice rejecting the parliament impeachment. They note Cheong Hyungsik, one of the six justices, is a clear conservative who was directly appointed by Mr. Yoon.

The Democratic Party quickly dismissed Kweon’s argument as “absurd and utterly nonsensical” and urged PPP to abide by a November agreement between the rival parties to nominate the three Constitutional Court justices.

Party lawmaker and spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said PPP has “blatantly revealed their true intention to obstruct the constitutional trial.”

There was no immediate response from Mr. Han, who during the Cabinet meeting stressed that the government would cooperate with the ruling and opposition parties to stabilize the economy.

There is no clear definition about what an acting president can and cannot do over the appointments of court justices. The Democratic party accuses PPP of trying to drag out the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to determine Mr. Yoon’s fate.

Time is a crucial issue for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-Myung, who is favoured by polls to win a presidential by-election in the event of Mr. Yoon’s ouster but grapples with his own legal troubles. Lee could possibly be prohibited from running for president if the appellate and Supreme courts uphold his lower court conviction for election law violation in November.

Mr. Yoon faces allegations of rebellion and abuse of power over his martial law introduction. Investigative authorities want him to appear for questioning later this week, but officials at Mr. Yoon’s office and residence on Monday (December 16, 2024) refused to receive requests for his appearance.

The martial law declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, drew hundreds of troops who tried to encircle parliament and prevent lawmakers from voting on the decree. Many lawmakers still managed to get inside a National Assembly chamber and voted to overturn Mr. Yoon’s decree unanimously, forcing Mr. Yoon’s Cabinet to lift it.

Mr. Yoon’s decree, which harkened back to an era of past military-backed dictatorships, has sparked massive street protests calling for his ouster and resulted in his approval rating plummeting. Mr. Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have been arrested over their roles in the martial law enforcement.

Supporters of Mr. Yoon worry that his early exit would severely hamper the country’s conservatives and cause them to likely lose a presidential by-election to the liberals as they did in 2017 when then-impeached conservative President Park Geun-hye was ousted and arrested over a corruption scandal.

Published - December 17, 2024 02:34 pm IST