Written by Michael Thervil
Photo by Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press
With South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol being impeached on December 14th by the South Korean Parliament because of his decision to implement martial law on December 3rd, led many to believe that his actions were nothing more than a politically motivated insurrection that he executed to stay in power; but Yoon Suk-yeol stated that he executed martial law to crack down on anti-state forces. With an impeachment ruling by the South Korean Parliament, this left his successor Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to step up to the plate and lead the people of South Korea.
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol is believed by many to be an American puppet due to his deep ties to America. In a turn of events, Prime Minister and now acting President Han Duck-soo found out that his head was on the chopping block as well. The South Korean Parliament is on fire today as it has reached the decision to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo. This impeachment proceeding was made lawful by 192 lawmakers in the South Korean Parliament voted to impeach Han Duck-soo out of its 300-member Parliament today. Two thirds of the South Korean Parliament is needed in order for the impeachment process to become valid.
The reason for the impeachment of Han Duck-soo is because he failed to adhere to the legal directive that he must appoint three Justices to fill vacancies within the constitutional court. In a statement to the South Korean press, Han Duck-soo stated that the reason why he didn’t appoint three Justices to the constitutional court was because he wanted a bipartisan agreement made concerning which appointees would be appointed to the constitutional courts. With both Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Duck-soo being impeached within two weeks of each other, that puts the next in line of succession finance minister Choi Sang-mok in the position to lead the people of South Korea.
With this new ruling to impeach Han Duck-soo, it has led to protest within the South Korean Parliament with members of the People Power Party (PPP) holding the position that Han Duck-soo should disregard the ruling of the South Korean Parliament. The People Power Party is a conservative right-wing party that seeks to deepen ties with the United States while the Democratic Party of Korea, a left leaning party seeks to foster better human rights and cultivate a better relationship with North Korea.
The political complications in South Korea are as complex as it is necessary for many, especially when it comes to Yoon Suk-yeol who is still waiting for a ruling from the constitutional court. The political hang-up lies in the fact that although two-thirds votes are needed from the South Korean Parliament to impeach an active President, the question lies in if that same law applies to an acting President. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is making the argument that the acting President can be impeached if 151 members of Parliament support a bill of impeachment because their constitution allows for the removal of a cabinet member by a majority vote.
This political turbulence in South Korea appears to be taking a toll on both the social and economic standing of Korea in the eyes of the international community. With this, the South Korean government has essentially opened itself up to being possibly exploited by major competitors in the region, such as China. With South Korean citizens facing high household debt, an aging population, high youth unemployment, and geopolitical issues with North Korea, this could be the crack that an opposing country like North Korea has been waiting for. This may sound far-fetched for many, but it does have a certain level of validity that should not be ignored.
The United States is also watching as it has an invested interest in South Korea because that’s how it keeps it’s eyes on North Korea. But with South Korea distracted by political chaos at the moment, the United States could possibly find its Asian puppet blindsided by the actions of its detractors.
Comments