The eventful winter on the Korean Peninsula: the acting president was impeached and faced the deadliest air crash in South Korea.

Previously reported, after two parliamentary votes, the imposition of martial law by Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached with a vote of 204 to 85. Subsequently, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo temporarily assumed the presidential duties. However, as Han Duck-soo refused to appoint three constitutional judges, he deemed it beyond his responsibilities and requiring consultation between the ruling and opposition parties. The opposition party also initiated an impeachment vote, which ultimately passed with 192 votes. Vice President and Minister of Finance Choi Sang-mook will assume the duties of the president. On the 29th, a plane crash occurred in South Korea, making this winter seem not so peaceful in South Korea.

(South Korea's parliament voted to impeach Yoon Suk-yeol for the second time, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will temporarily assume the position until the next presidential candidate is announced)

Through the impeachment of the acting president, the speaker: applying the standard of impeaching the prime minister

According to the report from the South Korean News Agency, on the 27th, the National Assembly passed the impeachment case of Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who is acting on behalf of the president's duties. Out of the 300 members of parliament, 108 members from the ruling party, the National Power Party, attended, with 107 voting in favor and 1 member absent from the main opposition party, the Together Democratic Party. A total of 192 people participated in the vote. The impeachment case was passed with 192 votes in favor.

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug said that the standard for passing the impeachment case in the National Assembly depends on the removal of the person from office. The target of this impeachment is the Prime Minister who is in charge of the President's duties. Therefore, the standard for the Prime Minister's impeachment case should be applied, which is the approval of more than half of the present members of the National Assembly (151 people), rather than the standard for the President's impeachment case (200 people).

The impeachment case arose from the prime minister's refusal to appoint constitutional judges.

On the 26th, Han Deok-soo issued an emergency statement, stating that the appointment of Constitutional Court judges would be temporarily suspended until consensus is reached between the ruling and opposition parties. He stated that once the ruling and opposition parties reach a consensus on the appointment of Constitutional Court judge candidates and submit a proposal, he will immediately make the appointment. Please provide the source text to be translated. He pointed out that the responsibility of the acting president is to ensure the stable operation of the national government, but the inherent power of the president, such as appointing candidates for constitutional institutions, is something that should not be touched if possible. This is consistent with the spirit of the constitution and laws of the country. If it is necessary to exercise the corresponding powers, consensus must be reached in the parliament first. This tradition has never been broken in the constitutional history of South Korea.

The New Power Party had originally requested that the appointment of three judges be handled in the parliament. The operational rules of the Constitutional Court require at least seven out of nine judges to be present and six to agree in order to confirm the impeachment and removal of the president, but there are still three judge vacancies. Han Dae-soo was also impeached by the parliament for refusing to appoint Constitutional Court judges on the grounds of exceeding his authority.

The incoming vice premier urged the parliament not to impeach the prime minister.

According to South Korean law, after the impeachment of the prime minister who holds the authority of the acting president, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mook, will take over the duties of the acting president. The process will be completed when the original impeachment resolution document is delivered to the Constitutional Court and its copy is sent to Han Deok-soo, after which Choi Sang-mook will officially assume the position of acting president.

However, previously Choi Sang-mook urged the parliament not to impeach Han Deok-soo, because impeaching the acting president is equivalent to impeaching the entire cabinet. If the parliament passes an impeachment motion against the acting president, the government's power will be greatly weakened, and the reason for the existence of the State Councilors will be lost.

The deadliest plane crash in South Korea, with only 2 survivors

In this eventful winter, on the 29th, it was also reported that Jeju Air's flight from Bangkok to Muan International Airport had a belly landing crash. Yonhap News Agency reported that at 9 a.m. that day, Jeju Air flight 7C2216 landed in the belly of Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do, and then left the runway and crashed into the airport wall, and exploded and caught fire. The aircraft is a Boeing 737-800 and carries 181 people, including 175 passengers (173 Korean and 2 Thai) and 6 crew. The accident killed 179 people and rescued 2.

This incident is the deadliest air crash in South Korea, and the government has announced a nationwide mourning period from now until January 4. In addition, the entertainment industry's annual hot events, such as MBS, KBS, and other awards ceremonies, will also be affected.

This article, A tumultuous winter on the Korean Peninsula: Acting President Impeached, and the deadliest plane crash in South Korea, first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.