Acting President Han Duck-soo was standing in for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was also impeached by the National Assembly.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has dismissed the Parliament’s impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s replacement.
The court’s eight sitting justices voted 7–1 against the impeachment. Two had voted to reject the National Assembly’s impeachment motion entirely, South Korean state media Yonhap reported.
The court’s decision reinstates Han to acting president.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting president on Dec. 14 when the opposition-led National Assembly unicameral parliament voted to impeach Yoon over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law and strip him of his powers.
Han was subsequently impeached on Dec. 27 in a partisan National Assembly vote for refusing to comply with parliamentary demands. He had declined to progress the opposition’s motion to fill three vacancies on the nine-seat Constitutional Court. The Court’s six justices did not meet the quorum of seven needed to deliberate.
Han cited political bias in the candidates nominated by the National Assembly, which is led by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The acting president asked the DPK to present candidates that would win consensus from the ruling People Power Party (PPP).
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After Han was impeached by the Assembly 192–108, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok became acting president. Choi appointed two of the DPK’s named justices but withheld the third—a progressive-leaning justice Ma Eun-hyuk—citing a lack of bipartisan support.
In response, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling on Feb. 27 that Choi’s non-appointment infringed on the National Assembly’s rights. However, the court did not say by when should Choi appoint Ma.
Yoon’s supporters and the PPP have expressed a lack of trust in the court’s impartiality, voicing their concerns that the court has been stacked against the president as he is facing impeachment charges. They point to the past affiliations of multiple justices to South Korea’s left-wing parties.
The Constitutional Court is also tasked to deliberate and determine whether Yoon will be impeached over his Dec. 3 order. Its ruling, expected by the end of the month, will determine whether Yoon will stay on as president, and whether South Koreans will have to vote in a snap election within 60 days of the ruling.
