Hello and welcome to the details of South Korea on edge: Rival protests erupt after second leader impeached in political crisis and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - The second impeachment on Friday thrust Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok into the roles of acting president and prime minister. — AFP pic
SEOUL, Dec 28 — Protests were planned across South Korea today, as supporters and opponents of suspended president Yoon Suk-yeol prepared to hold rival rallies two weeks after he was impeached.
Vast protests both for and against Yoon have rocked South Korea since he sought to impose martial law in early December, plunging the country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Lawmakers on Friday impeached Yoon’s replacement, acting president Han Duck-soo, after he refused demands to complete Yoon’s impeachment process and to bring him to justice.
It is up to the Constitutional Court to decide Yoon’s, and now Han’s fate, but demonstrators from both camps have vowed to keep up pressure in the meantime.
“Nearly two million people will come together to protect president Yoon,” said Rhee kang-san, a supporter of Yoon, who is one of the rally organisers in Seoul.
“The rally continues our efforts to amplify the people’s voice against impeachment.”
An organiser of a rival anti-Yoon rally said the anger of those who supported his impeachment was “burning even more intensely”.
“The people are now strongly demanding Yoon’s immediate dismissal and punishment,” she added.
At the heart of the backlash against Han was his refusal to appoint additional judges to the Constitutional Court, which has three vacant seats.
While the six current judges can decide whether to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach Yoon, a single dissenting vote would reinstate him.
The opposition wanted Han to approve three more nominees to fill the nine-member bench, which he had refused to do, leaving both sides in deadlock.
The second impeachment on Friday thrust Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok into the roles of acting president and prime minister.
It also took the country into uncharted territory.
“We’ve had an acting president before,” said Lee Jun-han, a professor at Incheon National University. “But this is the first time we’ve had a substitute for a substitute.”
Choi said in a statement after the impeachment that “minimising governmental turmoil is of utmost importance at this moment,” adding that “the government will also dedicate all its efforts to overcoming this period of turmoil”.
Like Han, Choi will face pressure from the opposition to accept the appointment of new judges.
If he refuses, he could face his own impeachment vote. — AFP
These were the details of the news South Korea on edge: Rival protests erupt after second leader impeached in political crisis for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
