Constitutional Court upholds impeachment of Prime Minister Han

[Anchor]

The Constitutional Court has stated that the effectiveness of the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and the resulting suspension of his duties will be recognized until a separate decision is made.

Regarding the controversy over the quorum for the impeachment vote of the acting president, the court said it is a matter for the judges to decide.

Park Young-min reports.

[Report]

On December 27, amid opposition from the ruling People Power Party, the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo passed in the National Assembly with 192 votes in favor.

The quorum applied at that time was a majority of the total members, which is 151 seats, the threshold for the impeachment of cabinet members.

[Woo Won-shik/National Assembly Speaker/Dec. 27: "This is the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. It will be resolved with the majority of the total members' approval."]

However, the People Power Party claimed it is "null and void" and filed an injunction with the Constitutional Court, seeking a resolution of the authority dispute and a suspension of effectiveness.

They argued that since Prime Minister Han was in the position of 'acting president' at the time, the threshold for presidential impeachment, which requires "more than two-thirds approval," should apply.

Additionally, they claimed that since the resolution is invalid, the suspension of Prime Minister Han's duties is also invalid. However, the Constitutional Court stated today (12.30) that the effectiveness of the suspension of Prime Minister Han's duties is recognized until a separate decision is made.

The basis for this is Article 65, Section 3 of the Constitution, which states, "The person against whom an impeachment motion is resolved shall have their exercise of authority suspended until the impeachment trial is held."

However, regarding the quorum for the impeachment vote of the acting president, it stated that it is "a matter for the judges to decide."

The Constitutional Court held a judges' meeting today to discuss the handling of cases, including the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han and the dispute over authority.

[Kim Hyung-doo/Constitutional Court Justice/Before the meeting: "((How will you address the suspension of effectiveness and the dispute over authority regarding the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo?) We need to discuss that as well."]

Additionally, the Constitutional Court mentioned that discussions are ongoing regarding whether it is possible to issue a ruling on impeachment trial cases under the so-called 'six-judge system.'

This is KBS News, Park Young-min.