ADVERTISEMENT South Korea’s main opposition party submitted a motion on Thursday to impeach Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo over his unwillingness to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies.
The appointments are critical as the court prepares to review rebellion charges against impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol stemming from his brief martial law decree on 3 December.
‘Focus on maintaining stability’ President Yoon’s powers were suspended on 14 December after the National Assembly voted to impeach him over an attempted power grab.
The Constitutional Court, currently short three justices, requires six out of nine members to uphold Yoon’s impeachment to formally end his presidency.
ADVERTISEMENT Syria’s new Interior Minister Mohammed Abdel Rahman says 14 “interior ministry personnel” were killed by what he described as the “remnants of the Assad regime”.
A motion to impeach Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo for his refusal to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies was filed on Thursday by the main opposition party in South Korea.
The appointments are crucial as the court gets ready to consider rebellion charges against President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was impeached due to his brief declaration of martial law on December 3.
High-level diplomatic efforts have been halted and financial markets have been unsettled as the country’s political paralysis has worsened due to the dispute over court appointments.
Motions for the appointment of the three justices were also approved by the National Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition.
Han responded by reiterating in a televised statement that he would not appoint people without bipartisan approval.
Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the National Assembly, criticized Han’s hesitation, claiming that it “infringes on the National Assembly’s right to select Constitutional Court justices.”. “”.
Members of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, who mostly abstained from the vote, contended that Han shouldn’t use his presidential power to name justices as long as Yoon is still officially in office.
To preserve Yoon’s presidency, conservatives have been accused by the Democratic Party of dragging out the legal proceedings.
“Han lacks both the qualifications to serve as the acting leader and the will to uphold the Constitution,” said Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party. “.”.
Han’s impeachment could be put to a vote on the floor as early as Friday.
“Pay attention to preserving stability.”.
After the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon for attempting to seize power, his authority was suspended on December 14.
To officially end Yoon’s presidency, the Constitutional Court, which is currently short three justices, needs to uphold Yoon’s impeachment with six of its nine members.
In support of his position, Han said that “an acting president should focus on maintaining stability in governance to help the country overcome crisis while refraining from exercising significant powers dot.”. such as appointments to institutions established by the constitution. “”.
“Until the ruling and opposition parties present a mutually acceptable proposal, I will not appoint justices to the Constitutional Court,” Han continued.
The opposition has reacted negatively to Han’s vetoes of agricultural bills, his refusal to authorize investigations into Yoon, and the corruption claims made against Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, in addition to the court standoff.
Han’s duties would be taken over by Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok in the event of Han’s impeachment.
There is still uncertainty regarding the legal requirements for impeaching an acting president. In the National Assembly, a two-thirds majority vote is needed to remove a president, but only a simple majority can impeach most officials.
It would take more help from other parties to get the Democratic Party, which currently holds 170 of the 300 seats, to reach that majority.
Yoon has, however, obstructed searches of his office and evaded police summonses on charges of rebellion, including one on Christmas Day.
Yoon was called in for questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials on Sunday in connection with claims that he had planned a rebellion and abused his power.
Several senior officials involved in the attempted imposition of martial law, including Yoon’s defense minister and police chief, have already been taken into custody by authorities.
The martial law order was meant to “sound alarm against .,” according to Yoon’s attorney, Yoo Seung-soo, who defended his client’s actions. political mistreatment” and did not amount to rebellion.
The “remnants of the Assad regime” killed 14 “interior ministry personnel,” according to Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Syria’s new interior minister.
There were clashes in several cities, including the capital Damascus, Homs, and the seaside city of Tartus. Since the overthrow of longtime autocrat President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, the country has seen the most severe and extensive unrest.
Rahman pledged to put an end to “anyone who dares to undermine” the nation’s security, put its citizens’ lives in jeopardy, or impede efforts to bring about peace and stabilize its future.
The state media reported that members of the Alawite and Shia Muslim minority groups led protests in the city of Homs on Wednesday.
An internet video purporting to show the burning of an Alawite shrine appears to have been a contributing factor in the Alawite protests. The interim authorities maintained that the video was not a recent incident and was therefore old.
The release of soldiers from the former Syrian army who are currently being held captive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was demanded by some demonstrators. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, HTS forces attempted to put an end to the unrest in Homs, killing at least one protestor and injuring five more.
Additionally, the HTS enforced a curfew from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time (8 p.m. to 10 a.m. CET) in response to the demos.
The curfew is only in effect for one night, according to state media reports, but it may be extended if the violence doesn’t stop.
Though less violent, more minor protests also happened in other places, such as Tartus, the city where the majority of Syria’s Alawite minority resides.
As oil continued to wash up along the coast, a state of emergency was proclaimed throughout the southern Krasnodar region of Russia.
More than 4,300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil leaked into the Black Sea on December 15th when two aging Russian oil tankers collided in the Kerch Strait following a storm. According to officials, about 55 kilometers of coastline were contaminated by the spill.
Mazut, a low-quality oil product that was widely used for home heating in some areas of the former Soviet Union, was transported by the two ships. More than 7,500 individuals, many of whom were volunteers, were sent in by officials to clean up the shorelines that had been degraded by the black substance and save wildlife.
An estimated 12,000 tonnes of contaminated soil were cleared from 34 kilometers of shoreline, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
The Krasnodar region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratiev, said in a Telegram statement that preliminary estimates predicted most of the oil would remain at the Black Sea’s bottom, where it could be gathered in the water.
The air warms and the oil products rise to the surface, but the weather controls the situation. They end up washed up on our beaches as a result,” Kondratiev stated.
The popular summer resort of Anapa has sandy beaches that are covered in pollution. According to Kondratiev, his administration will endeavor to restore the region, with the primary goal being the prompt cleaning of the coastline in order to protect the resort.
