Yoon’s impeachment unlikely if Han resumes role

Mar 21, 2025, 10:04 am

AsiaToday reporter Han Dae-eui

The Constitutional Court's impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has been scheduled for Monday, raising speculation that it could influence the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol. Experts predict that if Prime Minister Han's impeachment is dismissed or rejected, it will also make it impossible to uphold President Yoon's impeachment.

The Constitutional Court set on Thursday the ruling date for Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial for 10 a.m. next Monday. The National Assembly's impeachment charges against Prime Minister Han center on two main points: first, his alleged complicity in or neglect of President Yoon's December 3 martial law declaration, and second, his refusal, while serving as acting president, to appoint Moon Eun-hyuk, Jung Gye-seon, and Cho Han-chang as Constitutional Court justices recommended by the National Assembly. After Prime Minister Han was impeached, Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed Jung Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang as Constitutional Court justices, completing the current eight-member system.

However, if Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial is dismissed or rejected, it is expected to impact the outcome of President Yoon's impeachment trial, which is closely related. First, if Prime Minister Han's impeachment is dismissed and he returns as acting president, the appointments of Jung Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang by Acting President Choi will remain valid. In this case, President Yoon's impeachment trial will proceed with the eight-member system. However, experts currently lean toward the dismissal or rejection of President Yoon's impeachment trial.

Second, if Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial is dismissed due to quorum issues in the National Assembly, a completely new situation will arise. At the time, the quorum for passing the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han, who was acting president, exceeded the quorum for the prime minister (151 seats). If the standard is set at 200 seats, equivalent to the quorum for presidential impeachment, the Constitutional Court must dismiss the impeachment trial against Prime Minister Han. Lawyer Cho Dae-hwan, who served as a senior secretary for civil affairs under the Park Geun-hye administration, stated, "The impeachment of Prime Minister Han will depend on the quorum issue. If Prime Minister Han, as acting president, is subject to the quorum for presidential impeachment, the trial will result in dismissal."

In this case, the appointments of Jung Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang by Acting President Choi, who lacked authority, could be invalidated. Consequently, the Constitutional Court would have to rule on President Yoon's impeachment with a six-member system. Although the Constitutional Court has previously ruled that a six-member system is sufficient for impeachment trials, it could face legitimacy controversies. Additionally, if the timing is missed with the six-member system, President Yoon would automatically return to office. This is because, as of April 18, the terms of Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Lee Mi-sun will end, leaving only four justices, which is insufficient to decide on President Yoon's impeachment.

Lawyer Seo Jung-wook and other legal experts argue that if Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial is dismissed, the appointments of Jung Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang by Acting President Choi are likely to be canceled. If canceled, the six-member system would prevent President Yoon's impeachment trial, and after 180 days, the president would automatically return to office.

However, the Supreme Court previously ruled that the actions of former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were convicted of rebellion, were valid as they were past governance acts. Therefore, even if Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial is dismissed, the appointments of Jung Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang as Constitutional Court justices may remain valid. Lawyer Cho stated, "Even if Prime Minister Han's impeachment is dismissed or rejected, it will not significantly impact President Yoon's impeachment trial. However, most experts already believe that President Yoon's impeachment trial will be dismissed or rejected, so the outcome may not change significantly.

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