South Korea's lawmakers impeach Acting President as crisis deepens

Han's slowness in appointing judges to the Constitutional Court earns their ire

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL - South Korea has impeached a second leader in less than two weeks, plunging the country into an even deeper political crisis.

Needing a simple majority, the opposition bloc of 192 lawmakers, which dominates the 300-seat National Assembly, voted unanimously in favour of impeaching Acting President Han Duck-soo, who took over after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on Dec 14.

Mr Han, who was formerly prime minister, had earned their ire for being slow to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court, which will decide if Mr Yoon's impeachment stands.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will take over as the acting president and acting prime minister.

South Korean politics has been in disarray since Mr Yoon's abrupt declaration of martial law on Dec 3, which was reversed by National Assembly lawmakers six hours later. The debacle has rattled financial markets and seen the South Korean won sliding to historic lows.

The first attempt to impeach Mr Yoon on Dec 7 failed to meet the two-thirds quorum of the National Assembly when the 108 lawmakers of his ruling People Power Party (PPP) closed ranks behind him and blocked the vote, but a second attempt on Dec 14 succeeded.

However, the quorum for Mr Han's impeachment has become a bone of contention between the PPP and the leading opposition Democratic Party (DP).

PPP argues that to impeach Mr Han as acting president, a two-thirds majority vote should be required, like Mr Yoon's, while DP maintains that Mr Han's position as prime minister means impeachment needs only a simple majority of 151 votes out of 300.

The PPP swiftly submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court demanding judgment on the quorum and the impeachment motion to be nullified.