Seoul, March 24: South Korea's Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating him as acting president.
Han's impeachment was dismissed in a 5-1 vote by the court's eight justices, while two justices voted to reject the impeachment motion entirely, South Korea's (Yonhap) news agency reported.
The ruling came three months after the National Assembly impeached the prime minister and then acting president over his alleged role in Yoon's Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, among other reasons.
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Four of the five justices who voted to dismiss Han's impeachment acknowledged there were violations of the Constitution and the law in his decision to defer the appointment of additional justices to the court, but noted it did not justify his removal from office.
Meanwhile, all but two justices sided with the National Assembly in ruling that the quorum to impeach Han was a minimum 151 out of 300 lawmakers, which is applied to a prime minister, not 200, as applied to a president.
"I thank the Constitutional Court for its wise decision," he told reporters. "I will start by dealing with urgent issues first," South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in a statement after the decision was announced.
The ousted South Korean president declared martial law in the country in Dec. 2024, accusing the opposition of anti-state actions, then lifted it six hours later after the National Assembly (parliament) voted against it.