Fill the three vacant seats to avoid another crisis
Published: 22 Dec. 2024, 19:51
We are dumbfounded that the governing People Power Party (PPP) and the majority Democratic Party (DP) are both bent on seeking political gains even amid a national crisis from the Dec. 14 impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol in the National Assembly. The DP even threatened to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo who serves as acting president. In a press conference on Sunday, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae warned that the majority party will hold Han accountable if he doesn’t promulgate by Tuesday the two special acts on appointing special prosecutors to investigate Yoon’s alleged rebellion against the state and the first lady’s corruption. The DP threatens to immediately impeach the acting president if he delays the promulgation of the two acts or vetoes them.
It is desirable if the acting president accepts the two special acts to avoid a national chaos, but the final decision is up to him. If the acting president finds too many unconstitutionalities in the two acts, he can veto them. But the DP threatens to impeach Han by defining his legitimate exercise of veto power as “an antistate move to earn time for the destruction of evidence.”
Moreover, there are disagreements over whether at least a half or two-thirds of the 300 votes are required to impeach an acting president is not clear. If the DP pushes for Han’s impeachment, it will thrust the country into an unprecedented crisis. If the majority party feels any sense of responsibility, it must act prudently.
The PPP is no different, either. Its floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said that the governing party will boycott the hearings on Monday and Tuesday for candidates for the three empty seats in the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court. Rep. Kweon, a former prosecutor, plans to demand an adjudication on competence disputes from the court if the majority party pushes the appointments of the three candidates. “An acting president can appoint a justice of the court in the absence of the president, but not when the president is suspended from his duty,” Kweon argued.
But the problem is that the current law doesn’t define the scope of an acting president’s role based on the absence or suspension of the president. According to Kweon’s logic, the current six-member bench must judge the constitutionality of the impeachment of the president. Would the public accept a ruling by only two-thirds of the nine-member bench?
Moreover, as more than six justices are needed to approve the impeachment, it can be rejected if only one of the six justices opposes it. To avert another national crisis, the legislature must first fill the three empty seats in the court and proceed with its trial on the constitutionality of the impeachment.
It is desirable if the acting president accepts the two special acts to avoid a national chaos, but the final decision is up to him. If the acting president finds too many unconstitutionalities in the two acts, he can veto them. But the DP threatens to impeach Han by defining his legitimate exercise of veto power as “an antistate move to earn time for the destruction of evidence.”
Moreover, there are disagreements over whether at least a half or two-thirds of the 300 votes are required to impeach an acting president is not clear. If the DP pushes for Han’s impeachment, it will thrust the country into an unprecedented crisis. If the majority party feels any sense of responsibility, it must act prudently.
The PPP is no different, either. Its floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said that the governing party will boycott the hearings on Monday and Tuesday for candidates for the three empty seats in the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court. Rep. Kweon, a former prosecutor, plans to demand an adjudication on competence disputes from the court if the majority party pushes the appointments of the three candidates. “An acting president can appoint a justice of the court in the absence of the president, but not when the president is suspended from his duty,” Kweon argued.
But the problem is that the current law doesn’t define the scope of an acting president’s role based on the absence or suspension of the president. According to Kweon’s logic, the current six-member bench must judge the constitutionality of the impeachment of the president. Would the public accept a ruling by only two-thirds of the nine-member bench?
Moreover, as more than six justices are needed to approve the impeachment, it can be rejected if only one of the six justices opposes it. To avert another national crisis, the legislature must first fill the three empty seats in the court and proceed with its trial on the constitutionality of the impeachment.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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