(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s main opposition party is seeking to impeach Acting President Han Duck-soo in a potentially risky move to put maximum pressure on the ruling party.
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The Democratic Party intends to wait till Thursday to submit an impeachment motion, according to Yonhap News, delaying its earlier plan to submit on Tuesday. Officials were frustrated as Han indicated at a cabinet meeting he would not approve the special counsel bills the opposition has been pushing for.
The bills seek to investigate insurrection charges against embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol and multiple allegations against First Lady Kim Keon Hee.
The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed those bills, but Han can keep them on the back burner and ultimately veto them, much like Yoon did in the months leading up to his martial law declaration on Dec. 3. Yoon’s shock decision was rescinded within hours, but it sparked political turmoil, market volatility and a wave of protests, ultimately leading to Yoon’s impeachment.
The bid to impeach Han comes as the ruling party and opposition vie to control momentum in the DP’s bid to finalize the removal of Yoon and force a presidential election that its leader Lee Jae-myung can stand in. The opposition party faces a race against time as Lee will eventually become ineligible to stand if a corruption verdict against him is confirmed in the coming months.
The DP may encounter difficulty drumming up the same support for impeaching Han compared with Yoon. Han said previously he tried to block Yoon’s martial law declaration, and apologized for failing to do so.
“I think this is too much for the DP to impeach the acting president,” said Shin Yul, a professor for political science at Myongji University in Seoul, adding that the move might backfire. “You shouldn’t kick out the prime minister just because he’s apparently against the idea of special investigations” into Yoon and the first lady, he said.
Han assumed duties as acting president on Dec. 14 after Yoon’s impeachment, which is now under review by the Constitutional Court to determine whether he will be permanently removed from office, a process that could take six months.
After reports that the impeachment motion was postponed, the won trimmed its losses to trade 0.4% weaker against the dollar at 1,457.85, compared to earlier declines of as much as 0.6%. Thin holiday trading exaggerated the won’s moves, making the currency the worst performer in Asia on Tuesday.