Yoon under fire: How Korea's impeachment process works

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Yoon under fire: How Korea's impeachment process works

Published: 04 Dec. 2024, 19:02 Updated: 07 Dec. 2024, 19:42

YOON SO-YEON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Citizens demand President Yoon Suk Yeol resign at a protest held in central Seoul on Dec. 4. [NEWS1]

The Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday morning gave President Yoon Suk Yeol 48 hours to resign or face impeachment, following the shortest-ever instance of martial law in Korean history. The president's declaration panicked the market, tanked the currency and threw citizens into a state of confusion on Tuesday night.

Opposition parties reported the impeachment motion to a plenary session at 12:48 a.m. Thursday, giving National Assembly members between 24 to 72 hours to vote on impeachment if the members decide not to pursue an investigation through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The most likely scenario for now is that the item would be brought to the plenary meeting on Thursday and a result would be reached by Friday or Saturday at the latest. If passed, it would be reviewed by the Constitutional Court and ruled on within the next few months, and, if approved, Korea would be heading to the polls to vote for a new president early next year.

During that period, the president’s rights to power will be seized from the moment the National Assembly passes the impeachment motion until the Constitutional Court gives its ruling. Yoon has not made an official statement as of Wednesday afternoon, but the odds are seemingly not in his favor.

The parliamentary process

An impeachment of the president requires that the motion be proposed by over half of the total number of representatives of the National Assembly and be voted for by two-thirds or more of the total number of representatives.

There are 300 lawmakers in Korea, meaning that 151 or more representatives need to propose the bill, and it needs to be approved by 200 or more representatives for the Constitutional Court to start reviewing the impeachment motion.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has 108 seats in the National Assembly, and the Democratic Party (DP) has 170. Should the DP succeed in forming an alliance, then it will only need to convince eight more representatives from the PPP to fulfill the requirements for an impeachment motion at the parliamentary level.

There were 18 PPP lawmakers out of the 190 that voted to lift the state of emergency martial law and are known for being supportive of Han Dong-hoon, the PPP leader who called Yoon’s move “wrong.”

“There’s no guarantee that the DP will be able to get the eight more votes it needs from the PPP,” said a former National Assembly Research Service official who wished to remain anonymous.

Citizens demand President Yoon Suk Yeol resign at a protest held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Dec. 4. [NEWS1]

“There’s a reason why the law has made it difficult to pass a presidential impeachment motion, and it's on purpose. We have to be very careful with impeachments, but it seems as though both sides are abusing all the powers they have.”

Still, if the National Assembly passes the impeachment bill, then Yoon will not be able to exercise his presidential power, starting as early as this Sunday. If this happens, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, will sit as acting president.

Yoon will not have to vacate his presidential residence immediately but will be asked to leave if the Constitutional Court rules to impeach him as the president of Korea.

Roh Moo-hyun impeachment in 2004 [JOONGANG ILBO]

Another impeachment motion

Korea has already seen presidential impeachment motions in the past, with the impeachment case of the late Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and the country's first-ever presidential impeachment of Park Geun-hye in 2017.

In 2004, 193 out of 272 lawmakers voted for impeaching then-President Roh, but the Constitutional Court ruled against the motion three to six. For then-President Park, 234 out of 300 lawmakers voted to impeach her, which was approved by all of the eight Constitutional Court justices that were sitting at the time.

Former President Park Geun-hye at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on March 30, 2017 [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Constitutional Court is then given 180 days, or around six months, to make a ruling, but the court is likely to push aside other items and concentrate on the impeachment so that it may be ruled on in only a couple of months.

It took the Constitutional Court two months — from March 12, 2004, when the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion, to May 14, 2004, when the Constitutional Court gave its ruling — to get a conclusion to Roh's case. It took three months — from Dec. 9, 2016, to March 10, 2017 — for Park to be impeached.

Constitutional Court short-staffed

When the baton is passed to the Constitutional Court, which is typically filled with nine judges — three recommended by the National Assembly, three by the president and three designated by the chief justice of the Supreme Court — at least seven justices need to start reviewing the motion to make a final decision.

At least six out of these seven justices then need to approve the motion for final impeachment.

The Constitutional Court in central Seoul on Dec. 4 [YONHAP]

The current Constitutional Court has only had six justices since Oct. 17 because the three Assembly-recommended seats were not filled due to political conflict between the ruling and opposition parties.

However, the Constitutional Court put a temporary stop to Article 23 of the Constitutional Court Act that requires the attendance of seven or more judges to review an item, meaning it would be legal for only six judges to review the impeachment motion — but not make the ruling.

The National Assembly will therefore need to add at least one more judge to complete the impeachment process.

The Democratic Party decided on Wednesday at around 5 p.m. to recommend judges Jeong Gye-seon and Ma Eun-hyeok as new members of the Constitutional Court. The PPP will also make one recommendation, according to reports, and the item will be voted on at the plenary meeting.

The president still needs to approve the appointment of a new Constitutional Court justice, which will be done by Prime Minister Han in the case of Yoon’s absence.

Citizens demand President Yoon Suk Yeol resign at a protest held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Dec. 4. [NEWS1]

A possible election

A presidential election would take place within 60 days if the Constitutional Court chooses to impeach the president. Yoon will regain power if the court rules against impeachment.

The 19th presidential election, when former president Moon Jae-in was voted in, took place on May 9, 2017, two months after Park was impeached. Moon took office the very next day.

The 21st presidential election was originally scheduled to take place on March 3, 2027, after Yoon’s five-year term.

Citizens demand President Yoon Suk Yeol resign at a protest held in Daejeon on Dec. 4. [YONHAP]

“The DP will try to lead the National Assembly to pass the impeachment motion. It’s the Constitutional Court that may divide final decision,” said Chung Tae-ho, a professor specializing in constitutional law at the Kyung Hee University Law School.

“The current Constitutional Court is known to be quite conservative, but it will be difficult for the judges to stay unmoved by the consensus of the people. The Korean court has been known to keep ‘a close lookout’ on public sentiment, even though they’re taught not to, and make a decision that’s in line with what the people want.”

Yoon has not made a statement regarding resignation as of Wednesday 6:30 p.m.

Update:The parliament's voting time has been changed based on the time that the impeachment motion was reported to the plenary session.

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]