South Korea's main rival parties are each spinning the scheduled impeachment verdict of suspended Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the Constitutional Court in their favor, as the court justices continue to deliberate over the fate of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The ruling party sees the ruling on Han preceding that on Yoon as a precursor to the court's decision to overturn or dismiss Yoon's impeachment case, should the parliamentary motion to impeach Han get overturned. On the other hand, the main opposition party, which led the parliamentary motions to impeach both Yoon and Han following Yoon's Dec. 3 martial law declaration, claims the Han verdict indicates the justices will then remove Yoon from the presidency.
Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, predicted Friday that the motion to impeach Han will be overturned, because the court did not uphold the parliamentary impeachments of eight other public officials.
Kweon told reporters that the court's decision to overturn Han's case "will probably be an important point of consideration in the impeachment case of the president," as the decision would imply there has been a "legislative dictatorship," which would thereby justify Yoon's imposition of martial law to curb the "state terrorism of the Democratic Party," which "paralyzed state affairs."
On Thursday, Rep. Shin Dong-wook, senior spokesperson of the ruling party, also said in an interview with CBS that if the court decides to overturn Han's case, he believes it "will have a considerable impact on Yoon's verdict."
In Shin's view, it is unlikely the same court would overturn Han's case and uphold Yoon's case, considering "logical consistency," as both cases are to determine whether Yoon having declared martial law should be seen as Yoon having led an insurrection.
But Kweon downplayed such analogies, saying "it is hard (for the two cases) to be logically connected."
By contrast, Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said in an interview with MBC Friday that the court's announcement on the Han case signals "a buildup to the decision to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol."
"We still have hope for the Constitutional Court because we believe it is taking the position of hearing out the conservatives' position for the sake of Yoon's impeachment (afterwards)," Jeon said.
Rep. Park Beom-kye of the Democratic Party told CBS Thursday that the court's announcement on the Han verdict indicates that the Yoon verdict is coming to a close after the court justices have narrowed their differences.
He projected that Yoon will inevitably face a unanimous decision upholding his impeachment, adding that the court's failure to hand down the verdict swiftly can be seen as a show of respect toward Yoon's supporters.
In the meantime, main opposition party Floor Leader Rep. Park Chan-dae said the court's decision to have the Han verdict precede the Yoon verdict shows how "politically motivated" the court has become, calling for the court to swiftly deliver its ruling on the Yoon case, as it initially said it would prioritize the presidential impeachment case.
Han was impeached by the parliament Dec. 27 for his involvement in Yoon's martial law declaration and his failure to fill the vacancies on the Constitutional Court despite his duty to do so. His verdict is to be delivered on Monday at 10 a.m.
In the meantime, the day for the verdict on the conservative president has not been announced as of press time, amid some speculations that there could be disagreement between the justices of the eight-member bench.
There is a chance the Yoon verdict might be delivered after the appellate court hands down its verdict on the Democratic Party Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung, over his alleged violation of election law before the 2022 presidential election. Lee lost the presidency to Yoon by a razor-thin margin of 0.73 percentage points and is currently the front-runner for the presidency.
A sentence of 1 million won ($681) fine or heavier would strip Lee of his right to run for an elected official position including the president for ten years, if finalized. The Seoul Central District Court handed down a suspended one-year jail sentence to Lee. The appellate court is scheduled to announce its verdict March 26, depending on which, Lee could appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
