SEOUL – The Constitutional Court of Korea on Monday dismissed the impeachment of suspended Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in a widely divided ruling, immediately reinstating him to the position as the acting president.

The court’s decision — which is final and unchallengeable — was not unanimous, with 5 justices voting to dismiss the impeachment motion and 1 voting to uphold it. The remaining 2 justices voted to reject the motion entirely.

Han was impeached on Dec. 27 after the Assembly led by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea — which holds 170 of 300 seats — accused him as an “accomplice” to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law imposition on Dec. 3. Other reasons included his recommendation that the president veto a special prosecutor investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee and his refusal to appoint three Constitutional Court justices.

A motion to impeach Han passed unanimously in a 192-0 vote, marking the first time an acting president was impeached by parliament. It needed more than the 151 votes to succeed.

In Monday’s verdict, justices Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-son, Kim Hyung-du, Jung Jung-mi and Kim Bok-hyeong dismissed Han’s impeachment, finding the arguments insufficient to warrant impeachment.

Justices Cheong Hyung-sik and Cho Han-chang rejected the impeachment, reasoning that the impeachment of an acting president requires the support of two-thirds of the entire National Assembly, rather than the simple majority that was used to pass it.

Justice Chung Kye-sun was the only one who upheld Han’s impeachment.

Although many anticipated that the court would address the constitutionality of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration, the verdict contained no elaboration from any of the eight justices on the matter.

Expectations were high because Han had strongly denied any prior knowledge of President Yoon’s martial law plans during the impeachment trial, asserting that he had done his best to persuade the president to reconsider.

Soon after the court announced the verdict at around 10:20 a.m., Han resumed his role as acting president by returning to his office. He began his work including answering questions from the press at the Government Complex Seoul, an emergency security meeting and tea time with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who served as the acting president while Han was suspended, according to the prime minister’s office.

Han’s return to office comes 87 days after he was suspended from his position when the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach him on Dec. 27. The court concluded all proceedings in its first hearing on the case on Feb. 19.

However, Han’s reinstatement is unlikely to quiet the storm.

The standoff over the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, one of three Constitutional Court justices who was not appointed last year — first by Han and then by Choi — is expected to continue.

The issue played a decisive role in the Assembly’s passage of the impeachment motion against Han last year, amid mounting pressures from the opposition party to appoint Ma.

The five opposition parties have already submitted an impeachment motion against Choi Sang-mok for failing to appoint Ma.

Asia News Network/The Korea Herald