Stop political calculations in times of crisis
Published: 17 Dec. 2024, 19:52
Updated: 17 Dec. 2024, 22:54
The governing People Power Party (PPP) and the majority Democratic Party (DP) are now battling over the scope of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s role as an interim leader after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol in the National Assembly on Saturday. The PPP claims that an acting president has no authority to appoint Constitutional Court justices who will weigh the constitutionality of the impeachment motion in the legislature. But the DP does not want the prime minister to exercise the president’s right to veto controversial bills passed by the majority party.
Our Constitution allows the prime minister to replace the president if his or her seat is vacant due to accidents or other reasons. But the top law doesn’t specify the scope of presidential power an acting president can wield. Legal scholars also have different views about the limits.
The DP started the fight by denying the prime minister’s rights to veto legislative bills. After the second impeachment motion passed in the Assembly, DP leader Lee Jae-myung said the acting prime minister would not use the president’s veto power, adding, “We decided to not impeach the prime minister over the abrupt declaration of martial law by the president.” Other DP members said, “An acting president isn’t the president” and “Abusing the president’s veto power can justify the impeachment of the prime minister.”
The DP-proposed six controversial bills include the Grain Management Act aimed at mandating the government to buy surplus rice from farmers regardless of market conditions and the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act aimed at compelling witnesses to appear for testimonies or forcing companies to submit their sensitive customer data to the National Assembly. The deadline for the prime minister to veto those bills is this Saturday. If he passes the deadline, those contentious bills will be implemented.
The PPP is no different. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, interim leader of the party after the resignation of former leader Han Dong-hoon, argued that the prime minister has no authority to appoint justices of the Constitutional Court until it endorses the impeachment motion, as the appointment goes beyond his authority. The nine-member bench has three vacant seats now. What matters most is a fair and prudent judgement by the court. But the PPP wants the judicial deliberations to proceed with only six justices. In this case, all of them must support the impeachment to oust the president from power.
We must not let political and legal uncertainties impair our economy. It’s not the time for the two rival parties to battle over the scope of the acting president’s power. We urge them to quickly resolve their differences on the scope of the power.
Our Constitution allows the prime minister to replace the president if his or her seat is vacant due to accidents or other reasons. But the top law doesn’t specify the scope of presidential power an acting president can wield. Legal scholars also have different views about the limits.
The DP started the fight by denying the prime minister’s rights to veto legislative bills. After the second impeachment motion passed in the Assembly, DP leader Lee Jae-myung said the acting prime minister would not use the president’s veto power, adding, “We decided to not impeach the prime minister over the abrupt declaration of martial law by the president.” Other DP members said, “An acting president isn’t the president” and “Abusing the president’s veto power can justify the impeachment of the prime minister.”
The DP-proposed six controversial bills include the Grain Management Act aimed at mandating the government to buy surplus rice from farmers regardless of market conditions and the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act aimed at compelling witnesses to appear for testimonies or forcing companies to submit their sensitive customer data to the National Assembly. The deadline for the prime minister to veto those bills is this Saturday. If he passes the deadline, those contentious bills will be implemented.
The PPP is no different. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, interim leader of the party after the resignation of former leader Han Dong-hoon, argued that the prime minister has no authority to appoint justices of the Constitutional Court until it endorses the impeachment motion, as the appointment goes beyond his authority. The nine-member bench has three vacant seats now. What matters most is a fair and prudent judgement by the court. But the PPP wants the judicial deliberations to proceed with only six justices. In this case, all of them must support the impeachment to oust the president from power.
We must not let political and legal uncertainties impair our economy. It’s not the time for the two rival parties to battle over the scope of the acting president’s power. We urge them to quickly resolve their differences on the scope of the power.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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