Constitutional Court rejects Han Duck-soo’s impeachment: reinstated as premier

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has overturned the suspension of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who resumes his role as interim president. The impeachment motion against him was also rejected

South Korea’s Constitutional Court today rejected the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, allowing his immediate reinstatement as premier and interim president. The decision was made by a 5-1 vote of the court’s eight judges, with two voting to reject the motion outright. The ruling was welcomed by Han, who expressed gratitude to the court for what he called a ‘wise decision’.

The charges and the suspension
Han’s authority had been suspended on 27 December by the parliament, which is controlled by the Democratic Party, the main opposition force. The accusations concerned his alleged involvement in the controversial declaration of martial law on 3 December, signed by President Yoon Suk-yeol. In addition to these accusations, the premier had been criticised for his failure to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court, despite vacant seats.

Constitutional Court decision
The Court found the evidence insufficient to justify the removal of the Prime Minister, thus rejecting the impeachment. Four of the five judges who voted against the indictment acknowledged that there were indeed constitutional violations, but these were not considered sufficient to legitimise his removal. Moreover, it was noted that there was no evidence that Han had taken steps to give legitimacy to President Yoon’s declaration of martial law, such as convening cabinet meetings prior to the announcement.

Consequences and future developments
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who immediately returned to office, said he would immediately take care of the most pressing issues, ending a period of political uncertainty.

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