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South Korea
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday (Dec 24) said that they are considering impeaching acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo after he refused to sign into law special bills to investigate his impeached predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee by Christmas Eve.
The party will wait until later this week to decide whether to submit a bill to impeach Han.
“We have decided to exercise patience, taking into account the sentiments of the people, and wait until Thursday (Dec 26)to determine whether our demands are met,” DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said.
If the impeachment happens, it would be the first time in Korean history that both the president and the prime minister, the two key figures in the government body, would have been ousted by the parliament.
The country has been reeling from a political crisis since Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law for a brief time, following which he was impeached. Now, Han, who has been serving as acting president after the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach Yoon.
If the impeachment bill is submitted, it must be voted on within 24-72 hours after being introduced at a plenary session in parliament.
Initially, the opposition party demanded that Han approve bills while calling for special prosecutors to investigate Yoon over his martial law decree, and his wife for corruption and other allegations, by Tuesday.
Watch | South Korea: Anti-Yoon Groups Demand His Official Removal From Presidency
However, Han did not put the bills on the cabinet's agenda and called for the ruling and opposition parties to further negotiate.
Following this, the opposition's floor leader Park stressed that there was no room for negotiations about the Yoon investigation.
Han’s stance “left us no other option but to interpret it as his intention to continue the insurrection by delaying proceedings”, Park said during a press briefing and added that his party would “initiate impeachment proceedings against Han”.
He further said that it only needs a simple majority in the 300-member parliament to impeach Han.
(With inputs from agencies)