SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 South Korea鈥檚 main liberal opposition party said Tuesday it will seek to impeach acting leader Han Duck-soo, as Seoul grapples with the turmoil set off when impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol made a short-lived declaration of martial law.
The country鈥檚 political parties are now tussling over how to run investigations into that decision, as well as separate allegations against Yoon's wife.
The opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, wants independent investigators, and gave Han until Tuesday to approve bills appointing them.
Impeaching Han would further deepen political chaos and worries by neighboring countries. Han, the country鈥檚 No. 2 official, has taken over the president's powers since 驰辞辞苍鈥檚 impeachment. If he鈥檚 impeached too, the finance minister is next in line.
The Democratic Party has slammed Han for several opposition-sponsored bills, including a controversial agriculture bill. It also urged Han to quickly appoint justices to on the Constitutional Court, which is reviewing 驰辞辞苍鈥檚 impeachment and will determine whether to dismiss or reinstate him.
Filling the Constitutional Court鈥檚 three empty posts could make conviction more likely, as it requires the support of six of the court鈥檚 possible full nine members.
The Democratic Party demanded that Han approve bills calling for special prosecutors to investigate Yoon for rebellion over his marital law decree, and his wife for corruption and other allegations, by Tuesday.
Han didn鈥檛 put the bills on the agendas for Tuesday鈥檚 Cabinet Council meeting, calling for the ruling and opposition parties to negotiate more.
Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae responded that there's no room for negotiations about a Yoon investigation, and that his party would begin steps toward an impeachment at once.
鈥淲e鈥檝e clearly warned that it鈥檚 totally up to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo whether he would go down in history as a disgraceful figure as a puppet of rebellion plot leader Yoon Suk Yeol or a public servant that has faithfully carried out the orders by the public,鈥 Park told a televised party meeting.
South Korean prosecutors and other officials are separately probing whether Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power, but by investigative agencies to appear for questioning and allow searches of his office.
驰辞辞苍鈥檚 police chief and several other senior military commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police officers to the 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Assembly, which prompted a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and voted unanimously to overrule Yoon's decree.
The governing People Power Party said that the opposition's impeachment threats are interfering with Han鈥檚 鈥渓egitimate exercise of authority." Floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, a Yoon loyalist, said the Democratic Party鈥檚 鈥減olitics of intimidation have reached their peak.鈥
An impeachment vote would face legal ambiguities. Most South Korean officials can be impeached with a simple majority of parliament, but impeaching the presidents takes two-thirds. The rival parties differ on which standard would apply to an acting president.
The Democratic Party controls 170 of the 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Assembly's 300 seats, so it would need support from members of other parties including Yoon's own to get a two-thirds majority.
The Constitutional Court has up to six months to determine Yoon's fate. If he's thrown of office, a national election to find his successor must take place within two months.
