Last week people were literally laying down flowers for the death of their nation, today they celebrated in the streets outside the National Assembly upon hearing the news of the successful impeachment vote against Park Guen-hye.
Park, leader of the Saenuri party (New Frontier) and President of South Korea, is witnessing her actions and family’s legacy coming full circle and calcify.
Last Saturday, 2 million people protested in public spaces up and down South Korea against allegations of Park’s corruption. But today, South Korean lawmakers voted 234 against 56 for impeachment. One member, Choi Kyung-hwan (Park’s former finance minister), abstained from voting.
After 18 years as a politician, Park has now had her powers suspended and is facing the very real possibility of becoming the first President of South Korea to be impeached – as well as the first President to be involved in a criminal investigation.
Park out!
The successful impeachment means that Park is immediately stripped of her executive powers, but will still retain her title as President. Her powers and duties will be transferred to the usually figurehead position of the Prime Minister of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-ahn.
The next step of the impeachment process will see the motion being placed in front of the Constitutional Court. The 9-judge panel will decide if the vote is valid in terms of due process and the reasoning behind it. Constitutional law allows for up 180 days for this ruling, however due to the intensity of the scandal and subsequent protests it is likely this would be carried out much quicker.
For the impeachment to be formalised the Constitutional Court must have 6 members approve the motion as valid. If approved Park would relinquish her title and an election would take place within 60 days for a new President. However, if the vote is deemed invalid, the lawmaker’s decision will be overturned and Park will have her power immediately restored for the rest of her term.
A previous President, Roh Moo-hyun, was involved in an impeachment during 2004 due to breaking Constitutional laws relating to the election process. However, this motion failed at the Constitutional Court level and Roh’s power was re-instated. Park’s impeachment appears more straightforward on paper due to the overwhelming public support.
Tying up loose ends.
Park may have been relieved of her power and duties, however she still may hold some residual influence due to her appointments during her tenure as President. She elected the Prime Minister, arguing at the time that Hwang would help in the fight against corruption.
The requirement for the Constitutional Court to formalise the impeachment process may also present challenges. Two of the judges in the Constitutional Court are due to retire in January and March and it remains unclear who will be responsible for the new appointments, as this decision usually resides with the President.
Another possible, but unlikely scenario, is that Park could resign during the impeachment process which would be testing for the political system as it is would likely lead to an unprecedented vacuum of power at the top of the Korean political system.
People of Korea, however, will continue their protests for two reasons. First they want to ensure Park receives a custodial sentence in the criminal courts, therefore forfeiting her current and retirement benefits from being President. Secondly, to continue calls for the Saenuri party to be disbanded due to long standing issues of corruption and the fact that 56 people still support Park despite all that has happened.
Charlie Allen
TEACH | EXPLORE 