South Korea: We’ll vote to impeach acting President Han – Opposition party

South Korea’s main opposition party has said that it would initiate a bill to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.

The opposition Democratic Party had threatened to impeach Han if he fails to immediately appoint three justices to fill the vacancies at the Constitutional Court.

Parliament voted in favour of three nominees on Thursday, but they have not been formally appointed by Han.

The court is working on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his December 3 declaration of martial law.

According to a statement by Democratic Party floor leader, Park Chan-dae, Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo does not have the qualification or the will to safeguard the Constitution.

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If Han is impeached, the finance minister will assume the acting presidency.

The Democratic Party has majority control of parliament, but there is disagreement between the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is needed to impeach the acting president.

Han said earlier on Thursday that he will not appoint the justices until political parties reach agreement on the appointments, adding that doing do so without political consensus would harm constitutional order.

Han has been under pressure to make the appointments, but political parties have disagreed on whether he has the authority to do so as acting president.

The court is set to hold its first hearing on Friday in the trial to decide whether to remove Yoon or reinstate him.

Under the constitution, six justices must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Yoon.

Court Spokesperson, Lee Jean, in a media briefing, said Yoon, who was impeached by parliament on December 14 in a vote joined by some members of his centre-right party, has not submitted legal papers as requested by the court as of Thursday.

Yoon’s repeated defiance has sparked criticism and calls from the opposition for his arrest.