SEOUL, March 24 (UPI) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating the 75-year-old as acting president while continuing to deliberate on the future of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Han took over the top office in December after Yoon was suspended for his shocking declaration of martial law. He was impeached and removed less than two weeks later, however, for refusing to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court. The opposition Democratic Party also accused Han of abetting Yoon’s short-lived martial law attempt.
The court ruled 5-1 to overturn the impeachment Monday, with the majority deciding that Han’s actions were not serious enough to warrant his removal. The two remaining justices said that the impeachment was illegitimate from the start because the vote was held without a two-thirds quorum in the National Assembly.
Han, who immediately returned to his duties, thanked the court for its “wise judgment.”
In an address after the verdict, the veteran bureaucrat vowed steady leadership through a turbulent geopolitical landscape while calling on South Korea to heal its deep political divide.
“If there is one thing we have clearly witnessed and learned over the past few years, it is that a society divided to extremes will only lead to misery and no one’s dreams will come true,” Han said.
“The ruling and opposition parties and the government must truly change,” he added. “I will listen to all the voices I need to hear … so that South Korea can move forward into an era of rationality and common sense.”
The Constitutional Court’s decision comes as an increasingly anxious public awaits its ruling on whether to uphold the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The court heard final arguments in the weeks-long trial on Feb. 25 and a decision was widely expected by mid-March, based on the timelines of two previous impeachment proceedings.
It has not yet indicated a verdict date, however, prompting massive protests on both sides of the issue to swell in Seoul and other cities around the country.
Yoon said he declared martial law to protect the public from “pro-North Korea anti-state forces” in the Democratic Party that were obstructing his agenda and paralyzing the government. He has also frequently repeated unsubstantiated claims of election fraud alongside intimations of other nefarious North Korean and Chinese plots.
Pro-Yoon demonstrations, which sprang up soon after his impeachment, have at times turned violent. In January, dozens of angry protesters stormed Seoul’s Western District Court after Yoon was formally arrested for his martial law attempt, breaking windows, destroying property and injuring 17 police officers.
South Korean police said last week that they would mobilize 14,000 riot police officers — some 60% of their available force — on the day of the Constitutional Court ruling. If six of the eight sitting justices vote to uphold the impeachment, a snap presidential election must be held within 60 days.
Public opinion remains in favor of Yoon’s removal from office. In a recent survey by pollster Gallup Korea, 58% percent of respondents said Yoon’s impeachment should be upheld, while 37% said it should be dismissed.
On Monday, Han called on police to maintain heightened vigilance ahead of the upcoming court decision and to “respond sternly to all illegal acts.”
“Pay special attention to maintaining social order, such as managing assemblies, protecting the personal safety of key figures and implementing safety management measures for mass gatherings,” Han said.
