This afternoon (December 27th), the South Korean National Assembly voted to pass an impeachment motion against Acting President Han Deok soo. 192 members of Congress participated in the vote and passed the impeachment case with 192 votes in favor. This is the first time in South Korean history that the National Assembly has impeached the President and Acting President after a two-week hiatus.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Han Dezhu stated on the 27th that he respects the decision of the National Assembly and will wait for the final ruling of the Constitutional Court.
According to CCTV International News, after the impeachment case against Han Deok soo was passed by the South Korean National Assembly on the afternoon of December 27th, Choi Sang mu, who is currently serving as the Deputy Prime Minister of Economy and Minister of Planning and Finance of South Korea, will take over the presidency.
According to CCTV News, before the voting began, the Speaker of the South Korean National Assembly, Yu Won sik, stated that the impeachment case against Prime Minister Han Deok soo, who acted as acting president, could be passed with the support of more than half of the registered members, or 151 people in favor. Subsequently, opposition party legislators began voting, while ruling party legislators still surrounded the speaker's seat in loud protests.
Affected by the martial law scandal, the largest opposition party in South Korea, the United Democratic Party, has reported Han Deok soo on suspicion of participating in "internal strife crimes", and the latter has been investigated.
The attitude of the Democratic Party towards whether to impeach Han Dezhu has been fluctuating.
Initially, on December 14th, Yoon Seok yeol was impeached and Han Deok soo became the acting president. The party leader, Lee Jae myung, stated that he did not consider impeaching Han Deok soo.
However, earlier on December 24th, the Democratic Party unanimously decided to impeach Han Dezhu for not approving two special prosecution laws against Yoon Seok yeol and his wife Kim Jeon hee. But in the evening of that day, he changed his mind and announced that he would decide on the impeachment matter on the 26th after deciding whether Han Dezhu would appoint a judge to the Constitutional Court.
On December 26th, the South Korean National Assembly held a plenary session and voted to approve the appointment of three Constitutional Court judges. According to relevant procedures, after the National Assembly approves the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court, it needs to be officially appointed by the current acting Prime Minister Han Deok soo.
Earlier on the 26th, Han Dezhu stated that the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court should first be agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties, otherwise he will temporarily suspend the appointment.
Regarding Han Deok soo's speech, Park Jae dae, the representative of the largest opposition party in South Korea, the United Democratic Party, stated that Han Deok soo's speech was a "sophistry" and immediately initiated impeachment proceedings against him. At the plenary session of the National Assembly held on the afternoon of the 26th, the impeachment motion of Han Dezhu was reported to the National Assembly.
According to CCTV News, the ruling party that opposes the impeachment of Yin Xiyue stated that appointing judges to the Constitutional Court is an inherent power of the President, and that the Prime Minister Han Dezhu, who acts on behalf of the President, has no authority to do so; The opposition party strongly demands that Han Dezhu be appointed as soon as possible to ensure the smooth progress of the impeachment trial.
The Constitutional Court of South Korea previously stated during questioning by the National Assembly that there is a precedent for the appointment of Constitutional Court judges by the acting president, and there are no legal issues. Whether there are 6 or 9 judges in the Constitutional Court may have a significant impact on the final passage of the impeachment case against Yin Xiyue. According to previous precedents, the impeachment case against Yin Xiyue requires the consent of all members under the 6-person system in order to be passed; Under the 9-person system, it is sufficient to have 6 people agree, so there has always been a huge difference between the ruling and opposition parties in South Korea on the issue of whether to have 6 or 9 people.
According to Liberation Daily, in the view of Duan Zhigang, a researcher at the Northeast Asia Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences and chief expert at the Northeast Asia Strategic Research Institute, the urgent appointment of judges by the Communist Party of China has practical considerations. Due to the lawsuit involving the leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae ming, who is suspected of violating the Public Office Election Law, the final verdict will be announced next year. If Lee Jae ming is found guilty, he will lose his eligibility to run for president. Therefore, the Democratic Party hopes that the Constitutional Court can quickly conclude the impeachment proceedings and dismiss Yoon Suk yeol, in order to advance the general election. Amid the severe impact of the martial law storm on the ruling party, Li Zaiming is expected to win.
The reason why Han Dezhu and the ruling party refused to appoint judges is not only unfavorable to Yoon Seok yeol, but also involves the issue of the acting president's authority according to the ruling party.
According to CCTV News, on December 27th local time, the Constitutional Court of South Korea officially held a hearing on the impeachment case of President Yoon Seok yeol.
It is reported that the first stage to be carried out is the "preparatory court" stage (also known as the "pre-trial conference"). During this period, the Constitutional Court will hold one or several sessions, and both the prosecution and defense, namely the South Korean National Assembly and Yoon Seok yeol, will concentrate on sorting out their respective positions, claims, evidence, and points of contention.
Afterwards, the Constitutional Court will choose an opportunity to engage in court debates between both parties until the final verdict is announced.
At 9:22 am on the same day, the South Korean Constitutional Court stated that it had received the power of attorney submitted by Yoon Seok yeol. The legal representative team includes Pei Fuyun, a former constitutional research officer of the Constitutional Court who served as the spokesperson for the Constitutional Court during the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun hye. It is reported that this is the first positive response from Yin Xiyue's side to the impeachment trial in recent days.
Under the continuous political turmoil, the financial market in South Korea is also difficult to stabilize.
On December 27th, the South Korean financial market experienced another wave of selling. On that day, the exchange rate of the Korean won against the US dollar fell to 1487.5 Korean won per US dollar, hitting a new low in over 15 years. However, the Korean won rebounded sharply in the afternoon, and as of press time, the exchange rate of the Korean won against the US dollar fell 0.28% to 1472.69 Korean won per US dollar.
The South Korean stock market also experienced a significant decline, with the Korean Composite Index falling nearly 2% at one point during trading. As of the close, the decline narrowed to 1.02%. Since the beginning of the year, the South Korean Composite Index has fallen by over 9%, and the South Korean KOSPI200 Index has fallen by 11%, making the South Korean stock market the worst performing market in Asia.
South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang mu stated on the 27th that if there is an excessive unilateral trend in the market, the government will take decisive measures to stabilize the market. Choi Sang mu made the above statement during an emergency meeting with senior financial officials such as the Governor of the Bank of Korea, Lee Chang yong, on the same day.
Recently disclosed data shows that under the impact of political turmoil, the business confidence of South Korean companies has experienced the largest decline in four years. According to some media reports, the decline in business confidence in South Korea has reached its highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic, reflecting growing concerns about the political turmoil the country's economy is struggling to cope with and the threat of tariffs after Trump takes office.
According to data released by the Bank of Korea after conducting a survey of nearly 3300 companies from the 11th to the 18th of this month, the Composite Business Confidence Index (CBSI) for December was 87 points, a decrease of 4.5 points from the previous month and the lowest level since September 2020 (83 points). At the same time, the outlook index for January fell 7.3 points to 82.4 points, the lowest level since August 2020 and the largest month on month decline since April 2020.
Some analysts in South Korea believe that the cooling of consumption is partly due to the shift in public focus towards political activities after the martial law crisis; On the other hand, the South Korean economy has been hit, especially with the depreciation of the Korean won causing people's wallets to shrink. According to South Korean media, since the turmoil, the depreciation rate of the Korean won has been accelerating.