The Constitutional Court dismissed the National Assembly’s impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Deok-soo. Han immediately resumed his duties and continued to act as the interim president. This decision came 87 days after the Democratic Party of Korea, leading the initiative, passed the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han on December 27 last year.
On the 24th, at the Constitutional Court’s grand courtroom in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the court held a verdict session for Han’s impeachment trial and ruled the dismissal with a vote of 5 (Justices Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-sun, Kim Hyung-du, Jeong Jeong-mi, Kim Bok-hyung), 2 dismissals (Jeong Hyeong-sik, Cho Han-chang), and 1 acceptance (Jeong Gye-seon).
Justices Jeong Hyeong-sik and Cho Han-chang gave opinions for dismissal. Initially, it was expected that the constitutional judges would unanimously agree, but their opinions differed.
The reasons for Han’s impeachment included five issues: ▽ conspiracy, acquiescence, or aiding and abetting of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s “riotous acts” ▽ rejection of appointing three Constitutional Court judge candidates recommended by the National Assembly ▽ attempt for joint state affairs operation with former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon ▽ refusal of special prosecutor acts regarding Kim Kun-hee and Chae Sang-byeong ▽ avoidance of appointing a permanent special prosecutor for riot acts.
Regarding the main issue of the required quorum, the court viewed the necessary quorum as a simple majority of the total number of ministers (more than 151 people) based on the act as an interim president. The court did not accept Han’s argument that the National Assembly’s resolution was illegal for failing to meet the quorum, which he argued should be based on the higher threshold of the acting officer (president). However, Justices Jeong Hyeong-sik and Cho Han-chang accepted Han’s argument and issued opinions for dismissal.
The five judges who voted for dismissal found that Han did not violate the constitution or laws in refusing special prosecutor legislation, proclaiming martial law, related acts of insurrection, attempts for joint state affairs, and requisition related to special prosecutor candidate recommendations. Although he did violate the law by not appointing judges, they determined it did not constitute grounds for dismissal as it did not betray public trust. Judge Kim Bok-hyung expressed an individual opinion that not appointing judges did not violate the law.
Justice Jeong Gye-seon, who gave an acceptance opinion, judged that rejecting the appointments of court candidates recommended by the National Assembly and the refusal of special prosecutor candidate recommendations were violations of the constitution and laws, significant enough to justify dismissal. Jeong further articulated that failure to appoint the insurrection special prosecutor hindered the resolution of social unrest.
As a result, the impeachment motion case led by the opposition party resulted in a ‘9 losses in 9 attempts’. The Democratic Party received a report card of repeated dismissals, facing backlash from the impeachment attempts. In the past two years, out of 13 impeachment cases driven by the opposition and brought to the Constitutional Court, 9 were dismissed, facing criticism from the ruling party as excessive attempts leading to turmoil.
The key points of contention in the trial were whether Prime Minister Han colluded with or supported President Yoon’s declaration of martial law, and whether the refusal to appoint constitutional court judge candidates and rejection of special prosecutor legislation justified dismissal.
Some speculated that the opinions for dismissal by two judges might influence President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment, emphasizing that the court’s decision inevitably reflects the political climate of the era.
Some also commented on how the Prime Minister Han’s court ruling allows inference into why President Yoon’s court decision is being delayed.
Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, expressed relief at the dismissal of Han’s impeachment, stating, “Though late, it’s a welcome decision. I was worried it would cater to ideological biases, but it adhered to constitutional logic.”
Na Kyung-won, a People Power Party lawmaker, also stated, “The return to duty by Prime Minister Han is an important opportunity to restore head-of-state level diplomacy and urgently address trade and tariff wars.”
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated, “It is significant that two judges saw the impeachment number of votes to be 200. The Democratic Party should sincerely apologize for halting the acting president’s duties for 87 days.”