South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president

SEOUL

South Korea's opposition said on Dec. 24 it would hold back a decision to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo until later in the week.

The opposition Democratic Party earlier said it would introduce an impeachment motion against Han on Dec. 24 to protest against the interim leader's refusal to sign into law special bills to investigate his impeached predecessor.

"We have decided to exercise patience, taking into account the sentiments of the people, and wait until the 26th to determine whether our demands are met," floor leader Park Chan-dae said.

The party originally set Christmas Eve as the deadline for Han to promulgate two special bills investigating suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law, as well as graft allegations surrounding his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

The conservative leader was stripped of his duties by parliament on Dec. 14 following his brief declaration of martial law 11 days earlier, which plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades.

Yoon is now waiting for a decision by the Constitutional Court, which requires six votes in favor from its nine-member bench in order for the impeachment motion to be passed. Currently three seats are empty, and can be appointed.

But Han, who stepped in to replace Yoon, rejected the opposition's demand at a cabinet meeting on Dec. 24, insisting on bipartisan agreements for the two bills.

Yoon is currently under investigation by a joint team comprising police, the Defense Ministry, and anti-corruption investigators.

On Dec. 24, Yoon Jong-kun, the Democratic Party spokesperson told reporters that the impeachment motion against Han had been "unanimously adopted" as the party's official stance.

The reasons for impeachment include not only rejecting the two bills but also "actively participating in and supporting the insurrection" and "attempting to exercise another form of power while the President's authority had not yet formally ended after the insurrection."