Acting President Han faces pressure to appoint judges

Dec 26, 2024, 10:06 am

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Acting President Han Duk-soo

AsiaToday reporter Lee Han-sol

Acting President Han Duk-soo’s political life is expected to be decided on Thursday. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said they will immediately proceed with Han’s impeachment process if he does not appoint three constitutional judges.

According to political community, the DP will make the decision if the judges are not appointed by Thursday. The minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party has already drafted an impeachment bill. However, since cooperation from the majority of the DP is essential for a resolution on the bill, a bill by the pan-opposition bloc is expected to be prepared after supplementing it.

The DP had been pressuring the acting president by setting deadline on Tuesday. Han requested the ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement on the special counsel bills targeting President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee as well as the appointment of constitutional judges. The opposition parties said that Han had virtually refused to pass the bills, and will initiate the impeachment process. The deadline for Han to veto the independent counsel bill is January 1 next year.

“We were going to propose the impeachment motion through party platform immediately, however we decided to wait for the implementation of our demands on Thursday after considering the public’s sentiment,” said DP floor leader Park Chan-dae. “We will hold a plenary session on Thursday to see the appointment of the three candidates for the Constitutional Court.”

Han stayed at the prime minister’s official residence in Seoul on Christmas, the eve of the plenary session in which his political career will be determined. He has decided not to send a Christmas message as he is in a state of political chaos.

Within and outside the political circle, there are concerns that Han will be subject to the impeachment attack without carrying out the demands regardless of the deadline. Analysts say that the main opposition party has no will to negotiate as impeachment is mentioned even though the original deadline for veto is long away. The reason why the opposition party is calling for impeachment and the special counsel bills is that it must hold an early presidential election. Their intention is that the presidential election would erode the judicial risk of DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung and the campaign would naturally ignite through the special prosecution.

However, there are concerns that its plan to create an acting president in the face of emergency and a tarnished diplomatic credibility will intensify confusion in state affairs.

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