Korean court reinstates impeached PM Han as acting president

South Korea’s constitutional court on Monday ruled against the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, restoring him to his position as acting leader, while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his surprise martial law declaration late last year.

Seven of the court’s eight justices overturned or dismissed Han’s impeachment, casting expectations that the judges may not reach a unanimous decision to remove Yoon from office, sources said.

The seven justices either ruled the accusations against Han were not against the law or were not serious enough to remove him from office or his impeachment motion didn’t meet the required quorum when lawmakers passed it.

"It is even more important to prevent abuse of the impeachment system ... because (implementation of) the acting president is a procedure for national crises like presidential death or incapacity," two of the justices said.

Yoon cited a series of impeachment attempts by the opposition party as one of the reasons for declaring martial law on Dec. 3.

TO PREVENT SERIES OF IMPEACHMENTS

The main opposition Democratic Party has attempted to impeach senior government officials 29 times since Yoon took office.

“It was the first time for Constitutional Court justices to mention the abuse of the impeachment system,” said a lawyer, who asked not to be identified. “They may have indicated their opinions ahead of the verdict on Yoon.”

The National Assembly impeached and suspended Yoon on Dec. 14 for his martial law declaration, which was reversed by the Parliament six hours later.

Han became acting president after that but was impeached by the assembly as well in late December following political strife with opposition lawmakers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok had since been serving as acting president.

The Constitutional Court has been expected to reinstate Han to stabilize the country in political turmoil before it rules to remove Yoon from office, politicians and legal experts said.

The court has yet to rule on Yoon’s impeachment. If the court upholds the impeachment, South Korea must hold a presidential election. If it rules against the impeachment, Yoon will be restored to office and regain his presidential powers.

HAN PLEDGES 'FOCUS ON MOST URGENT MATTERS'

Han thanked the court after the ruling and said he would focus on “the most urgent matters.”

The acting president, who has served as the country’s first trade minister and ambassador to the US, vowed to do his best for the national interest as the global trade war has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office.

“I will devote all my wisdom and capabilities to stabilizing national affairs and securing Korea's national interest in the trade war,” Han said in a speech. “I will make all the decisions for the remainder of my term based on the interests of Korean industry and future generations.”

Han went to the Government Complex Seoul immediately after the Constitutional Court’s ruling and issued urgent instructions to relevant ministries to maintain security and order and deal with the disasters the nation has faced in recent months. 

He is expected to convene the National Security Council soon to review the security situation.

HOPES FOR YOON’S REINSTATEMENT

The ruling People Power Party welcomed the court’s verdict on Han, while some of the party’s lawmakers hope that the court may overturn Yoon’s impeachment.

"I cautiously predict that the president will return to office after the court's decision today," said Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party. "The court should set a date for the verdict as soon as possible and decide on the dismissal or rejection based on the Constitution, the law and legal conscience."

The court is widely expected to rule on Yoon this week, politicians and legal experts said.

The Democratic Party expressed regret over the court’s decision to reinstate Han, however.

“We cannot help but respect the Constitutional Court’s ruling,” said Opposition Leader Lee Jae-myung. “But will people understand it?”

Write to Lan Heo, Byung-Uk Do, Sungsu Bae and Sul-Gi Lee at why@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.