Opposition party threatens to impeach acting president if he rejects its demands
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea demanded acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo sign, by Tuesday, bills appointing two special counsels -- one to investigate insurrection charges against President Yoon Suk Yeol and the other to probe allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the party, said that if Han refuses to accept the demand, the party would "hold him accountable" immediately. This means that the party will launch impeachment proceedings against the prime minister, who is filling in for the suspended president, if he delays or vetoes the bills.
The statutory deadline for a presidential veto of the bills is Jan. 1. It is not difficult to guess why the party is rushing to enforce them. Apparently, it has a political scheme to accelerate the investigations of Yoon and prompt the Constitutional Court to uphold the National Assembly's impeachment of the president as soon as possible. There might be a calculation that the party could use the investigations politically if a presidential election is held in the first half of next year.
However, it is not right to accept the demands blindly. Han has the authority and duty to review the legal validity of bills in light of the Constitution and the law. To set an arbitrary deadline, demand action by that date and threaten to impeach the acting president if the demand is not met is verging on tyranny.
The bills themselves have a serious problem. They empower only the opposition parties to recommend special counsels. The party argues that the ruling party has no right to recommend a special counsel because both bills concern the current government. Yet the political neutrality of any investigations must not be impaired. Politically biased investigations could face controversy over their constitutionality. Such probes would also undermine public trust in the rule of law. The party should at least remove the unconstitutional elements before demanding their promulgation or threatening impeachment.
When it comes to impeachment, the party has crossed the line. Separately from Yoon's case, the Constitutional Court already has eight impeachment cases to rule on. The eight impeached officials include Lee Jin-sook, chair of the Korea Communications Commission; Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection; Park Sung-jae, minister of justice; Cho Ji-ho, chief of the Korea National Police Agency; and Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office. The court postponed trial proceedings for Lee Jin-sook to concentrate on Yoon's case. The other impeachment trials are likely to be delayed, too.
The Democratic Party argues that even if the prime minister is impeached, there will be no problem because his post will be filled by the Cabinet member next in the line of succession. The party seems to think nothing of state affairs. Impeachment is possible only in case of a grave violation of the Constitution or the law. A legitimate exercise of authority is not impeachable.
Impeachment is not the only means to badly undermine acting President Han. The opposition party reportedly demands he not appoint or promote high-ranking officials of the government and public institutions. Considering the precariousness of national security and social order in the wake of a presidential impeachment, it is urgent to fill vacant posts such as the ministers of national defense and the interior and safety. The party argues it should serve as an axis in the management of state affairs and demands Han appoint three justices to the Constitutional Court, two of whom opposition parties plan to recommend, while opposing appointments of senior officials. The party behaves like an occupation force under the pretext of Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law.
The party proposed the creation of a consultative body involving the government and the ruling party to overcome turmoil. Then it threatens to impeach Han, who is at the center of state management, if he does not accept its demands. This would make it hard for the consultative body to properly function.
