South Korea's opposition tabled a motion to impeach the current president | Politics News

The opposition wants to impeach Han Dak-su for failing to appoint judges to the constitutional court.

South Korea's main opposition party has filed a motion to impeach the current president, deepening political turmoil in the East Asian nation.

The Democratic Party said it tabled the motion Thursday because of incumbent leader Han Duk-soo's reluctance to fill three vacancies on the constitutional court ahead of the hearing review of sedition charges against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“We tabled the request … and will report it to the plenary session today,” lawmaker Park Sung-joon told reporters in the National Assembly about the action against Han. “We will put it to a vote tomorrow.

South Korea has been plunged into political crisis since President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law on December 3.

Yun was stripped of his duties by parliament on December 14 over the dramatic declaration, but a constitutional court ruling upholding the lawmakers' decision is needed to complete the impeachment process.

However, the court currently does not have three judges. Although it can continue with its six members on the bench, a single no vote will reinstate Yun.

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed motions calling for the appointment of the three judges as the court prepares to begin deliberations on whether to fire or reinstate Yun.

The vote came shortly after Khan reiterated in a televised statement that he would not appoint the justices without the consent of both parties – leaving the parties deadlocked.

Therefore, the opposition Democratic Party wants the impeachment of the current president.

Han's refusal to formally appoint the three judges proves that he “does not have the will or the qualifications to uphold the constitution,” Democratic Party leader Park Chan-dae told reporters.

Khan insisted that he would certify the judges' appointments only if his ruling People's Power Party (PPP) and the opposition reached a compromise on the nominations.

“The abiding spirit reflected in our constitution and laws is that the sitting president should focus on maintaining stability in governance to help the country overcome the crisis, while refraining from exercising significant powers that are exclusively the the president, including appointments to constitutional institutions,” Khan said.

An escalating crisis

If the opposition accepts Khan's impeachment motion in Friday's vote, it will mark the first time democratic South Korea has ousted a sitting president. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will step in as acting president.

Earlier this week, Han rejected the opposition's demand for special bills that would set up two independent investigative bodies to investigate Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law and corruption allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon-hee, which have sparked warnings of impeachment from the Democratic Party.

The impeachment motion said Khan “deliberately evaded the special investigation to investigate those involved in the riot and has made clear his intention to reject the appointments of three Constitutional Court judges.”

Such actions, he added, are “in violation of the public servant's duty to uphold the law … and serve the public.”

Yoon repeatedly evades law enforcement requests to appear for questioning on sedition charges and also obstructed attempts to search his office.

The Office of Corruption Investigation for High-Level Officials, leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities, summoned Yoon for questioning this Sunday after he failed to comply with an earlier request to appear on Christmas Day.