South Korea parliament introduces motion to impeach finance minister

SEOUL – A motion to impeach South Korea’s former acting president Choi Sang-mok was reported at the National Assembly on April 2, in the latest move by the main opposition party to hold top officials in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration accountable.

This would put the fate of Mr Choi, who is the finance minister and deputy prime minister, in the hands of the opposition-led National Assembly, which may propose to vote on an impeachment motion against him no later than the afternoon of April 4.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has accused Mr Choi of failing to fulfil his duty as acting president to appoint the ninth Constitutional Court justice, and causing a delay in the Yoon impeachment ruling.

Since the weekend, the party has renewed its bid to pass impeachment motions against the two acting presidents who succeeded Mr Yoon following his Dec 14 impeachment and suspension for declaring martial law on the night of Dec 3.

Parliament had previously passed an impeachment motion against Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo on Dec 27, and now seeks to impeach Mr Choi, who had filled in for Mr Han while the latter was suspended.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said the acting presidents obstructed the impeachment trial process by failing to comply with the Constitutional Court’s ruling – that it is their duty to appoint court justices selected by the National Assembly – and “must be held accountable for the failure to fulfil their constitutional duty”.

The Democratic Party, however, is likely to wait until the Constitutional Court finalises its decision over Mr Yoon’s impeachment on April 4, the party’s Mr Hwang Jung-a told reporters.

This news comes as lawmakers of the five opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, jointly filed a motion