SEOUL: South Korea\u2019s Constitutional Court on Monday overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation\u2019s No. 2 official as acting leader, while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
\nHan became acting president after Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly over his Dec. 3 imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis. But Han was impeached by the assembly as well in late December following political strife with opposition lawmakers.
\nThe unprecedented, successive impeachments that suspended the country\u2019s top two officials intensified a domestic division and deepened worries about the country\u2019s diplomatic and economic activities. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, had since serving as acting president.
\nThe Constitutional Court said Monday it has decided to overturn Han\u2019s impeachment, but it has yet to rule on Yoon\u2019s impeachment.
\nIf the court upholds Yoon\u2019s impeachment, South Korea must hold a election for a new president. If it rules for him, Yoon will be restored to office and regain his presidential powers.
\nYoon was impeached about two weeks earlier than Han. Observers earlier predicted the Constitutional Court would rule on Yoon\u2019s case in mid-March but it hasn\u2019t done so.
\nYoon has been separately arrested and charged with rebellion in connection with his martial law decree. If convicted of that charge, he would face the death penalty or a life sentence. On March 8, Yoon was released from prison, after a Seoul district court allowed him to stand his criminal trial without being detained.
\nMassive rival rallies backing Yoon or denouncing Yoon have divided the streets of Seoul and other major cities in South Korea. Earlier surveys showed that a majority of South Koreans were critical of Yoon\u2019s martial law enactment, but those supporting or sympathizing with Yoon have later gained strength.
\nAt the center of squabbling over Yoon is why he sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the assembly after declaring martial law. Yoon says he aims to maintain order, but senior military and police officers sent there have said that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to prevent a floor vote to overturn his decree. Enough lawmakers eventually managed to enter an assembly hall and voted it down unanimously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL: South Korea\u2019s Constitutional Court on Monday overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation\u2019s No. 2 official as acting leader, while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Han became acting president after Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly over his Dec. 3 imposition of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-468877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n