Korea: Official Position of the Constitutional Scholars Council

PRESS RELEASE
Released: Dec 27, 2024

Constitutional Scholars Council for
Enhancement of Korean Constitutionalism
(CSCEKC)

Official Position of the Constitutional Scholars Council
for Enhancement of Korean Constitutionalism (CSCEKC)
on the Quorum for Impeachment of the Acting President

The Constitutional Scholars Council for Enhancement of Korean Constitutionalism
(co-chairs: Seon-Taek Kim(Korea University), Heon Hwan Lee (Ajou University) and
Kwang-seok Cheon(Yonsei University) hereby issues an official statement regarding the quorum for impeachment against the Acting President, as below:

- Acting presidency and presidential succession are different concepts. Acting
presidency under the Korean Constitution (Article 71) does not transfer the office,
but merely refers to the duties or functions performed by the Prime Minister or a
member of the Council of Ministers when the sitting President is removed from
office or is unable to perform his duties due to an accident.

-Thus, the fact that the Prime Minister is acting in the capacity of the President
does not make him or her the President. Unless the Constitution specifically
provides an exception, the quorum for impeachment against the Prime Minister or
a member of the State Council may not be considered differently even when they
are acting presidents. It is obvious, therefore, that the quorum for impeachment
against the Acting President shall be the same as that for the Prime Minister.

- The quorum required to pass an impeachment motion is, in principle, left to the
discretion of the National Assembly. It is an established position of the
Constitutional Court of Korea that other state institutions must respect the
decisions of the National Assembly, when it lies within the scope of its discretion, 2
and that the Constitutional Court itself is no exception (Constitutional Court of
Korea, 98Hun-Ra3 etc., decided on July 14, 1998).

-Consequently, an impeachment motion against the Prime Minister in the capacity
of Acting President must be subject to the same quorum as the Prime Minister.
When the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy and Finance, assumes
the duties of the Acting President in the following order, he is required by the
Constitution to faithfully perform the duties of the Acting President.