Constitutional Court reinstates PM in impeachment trial

Acting president vows to focus on bipartisan cooperation, stabilize state affairs

By Anna J. Park

The Constitutional Court rejected the National Assembly's impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday.

The verdict came 87 days after the Assembly voted to impeach Han, who had been taking the role of acting president after President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended over his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

With the verdict, he immediately returned to work as prime minister and acting president, taking over from Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who had led the government since Han's suspension on Dec. 27.

Five of the eight justices voted against the motion, while one voted to uphold it and two dismissed the case for failing to meet the requirements for impeachment.

The Assembly impeached Han citing several grounds, with one of the key reasons being that Han colluded or at least abetted the martial law imposition by suggesting Yoon hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue just before the president's declaration, because approval at a Cabinet meeting is a requirement for martial law.

But the court ruled that there was no evidence or objective material to confirm that Han was actively involved in the martial law imposition.

"No evidence or concrete proof was found to confirm that Han took active steps, such as recommending to convene the Cabinet meeting to legitimize the procedural justification for martial law," it said.

Another key reason for the impeachment motion was that Han unfairly delayed the Assembly’s three nominees for Constitutional Court justices. After Han's impeachment, Choi, as the acting president, later appointed two of them.

The court said Han's delay of the appointments was in violation of the Constitution and certain laws, but was not grave enough for impeachment.

"As the Assembly's justice nomination had no legal flaws, Han had the constitutional duty to appoint them," it said. "However, we found no objective evidence that his delay of appointment was intended to incapacitate the court, which was dealing with the impeachment case of Yoon ... His action did not constitute a breach of the public's trust."

Regarding the quorum required for the prime minister's impeachment, the court's majority was that the appropriate voting threshold for an acting president should align with that of any Cabinet member — a simple majority vote.

When the Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Han, it applied the simple majority threshold of 151 votes out of the Assembly's 300 full members. However, some argued that because Han was acting as president at the time, the 200-vote threshold, which applies to presidential impeachment, should have been required.

"An acting president is supposed to carry out tasks and duties [on behalf of the suspended president] ... this doesn't mean a new position is created," the court said.

"According to Paragraph 2, Article 65 of the Constitution, the required quorum for impeachment is a majority of the total number of National Assembly members, which applies to the prime minister in his original status. Therefore, the impeachment motion was valid," the court said in its ruling.

It also did not accept the Assembly's claims that Han refused to select a candidate for a special counsel to investigate treason allegations against Yoon, vetoed a special counsel bill to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee over corruption allegations and attempted to run state affairs with former ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon.

The prime minister welcomed what he described as a "wise decision" by the court.

In a national address after the ruling, he called for bipartisan cooperation to help Korea navigate through the current crisis and once again make a leap forward to a brighter future.

"The majority of Koreans do not want the country to lean far to the left or right. Rather, they want it to move upward, forward and to progress. I will do my utmost to ensure that we can advance critical national issues in a stable and speedy manner through bipartisan cooperation," Han said.

"Our people are still going through many conflicts, but the desire for our nation, Korea, to continue to prosper and develop is something we all share. To achieve that, we must change."

Han also noted that he will prioritize addressing trade issues in light of the U.S.-China conflict.

"I will dedicate all my wisdom and capabilities to secure our national interests in the trade war. All decisions will be made with the focus on the interests of Korea's industries and future generations," he said.

The presidential office welcomed the court's decision to reinstate the prime minister.

"Today's decision by the Constitutional Court once again proves that the National Assembly's frequent impeachment motions were reckless and malicious political attacks. We hope that Han's return to office will serve as the starting point for the normalization of state affairs," the presidential office said.

Frequent impeachment of ranking government officials by the opposition was one of the grounds for Yoon's martial law imposition.

PPP interim chief Rep. Kwon Young-se also said, "The ruling shows the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) attempts to abuse impeachment proceedings to paralyze state affairs and tame the government have repeatedly failed in the face of public common sense and the principles of the rule of law."

The DPK expressed regret over the court decision and claimed the ruling "goes against the public's common sense and the principles of the rule of law."

Later in the day, Han presided over an emergency National Security Council meeting, emphasizing the need for "thorough" readiness to safeguard people's lives and livelihoods amid ongoing military threats from North Korea.

“While closely cooperating with friendly countries and the international community based on the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance, please make every effort to ensure our diplomatic policies serve the people and our national interest without disruption,” he said.

Han also said security and economic policies are inseparable and urged close cooperation between government branches to ensure South Korean companies have access to stable supply chains.