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| ▲ The Constitutional Court justices are seated at the court in Seoul before a series of rulings on April 10, 2025. (Yonhap) |
court-impeachment motion
Court rules quorum in impeachment motion of acting President Han valid
SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap) -- The Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld the validity of the National Assembly's impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo, ruling that the use of a quorum standard applicable to Cabinet ministers, rather than the president, did not violate the Constitution.
In a 6-2 decision, the court dismissed a competence dispute filed by 108 lawmakers from the People Power Party (PPP) against National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. The ruling came just weeks after the same court reinstated Han to office.
The parliament voted 192-0 to impeach Han, who was serving as both prime minister and acting president following the suspension of then President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over the short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.
The motion was introduced after Han refused to appoint additional justices to the Constitutional Court to deliberate Yoon's impeachment trial.
PPP lawmakers boycotted the vote in protest, arguing that the speaker wrongly applied a quorum of a simple majority -- typically used for Cabinet ministers -- instead of the two-thirds majority of 200 votes required for presidential impeachments.
In response, the PPP lawmakers filed the suit, claiming that their rights to deliberate and vote were infringed upon.
However, the court dismissed their claim, ruling that the speaker's decision did not violate the Constitution or other laws. It also noted that the PPP lawmakers had voluntarily opted out of the vote and therefore they were not in a position to claim their rights were violated.
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