Political strife erupts over South Korean court as it is set to determine fate of impeached Yoon
Seoul (AP): South Korea's acting leader vowed Tuesday to convey to the world that things are back to normal following parliament's impeachment of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, but rival parties began squabbling over the mechanics of a court ruling to determine whether to formally unseat or reinstate him.
The country's liberal opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach Yoon last Saturday over his short-lived December 3 martial law imposition, suspending his presidential powers until the Constitutional Court determines whether to uphold or overturn the decision. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election must be held to pick his successor within two months.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting leader, has taken steps to reassure the US and other countries and stabilise markets. Presiding over a Cabinet Council meeting on Tuesday, Han said he will “continuously do my utmost to inform the international society that Republic of Korea is fast regaining stability and maintain confidence with partners."
But the country's intense political strife appears to be far from over, as the rival parties began bickering over whether to fill three vacant justices' seats at the Constitutional Court.
To formally end Yoon's presidency, the nine-member court panel needs support from at least six justices. But since three seats remain vacant following retirements, a unanimous decision in favour of Yoon's impeachment is required to throw him out of office for good.
Three of the court's nine justices are directly appointed by the president. Three others are nominated by the Supreme Court head and another three by the National Assembly, and their formal appointments by the president has widely been a formality. The three seats that are currently open are to be nominated by the National Assembly — two by the Democratic Party and the other by Yoon's ruling People Power Party.
The court can rule on Yoon's case only with the current six justices. But the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led the impeachment efforts against Yoon, has said it would speed up the process of restoring the court's nine-justice system to promote fairness and public confidence in its ruling.
But PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, a Yoon loyalist, created a stir Tuesday as he voiced his objection to a Democratic Party push to fill the three vacancies. He said it would be inappropriate for Han, the acting leader, to appoint justices nominated by parliament, saying such authorities solely rest with the president.
“An acting president can appoint Constitutional Court justices when there is a presidential vacancy, but not when the president's duties are just suspended,” Kweon said.
Many observers say the court's current six-member configuration is advantageous for Yoon's chances to return to office, as it would only require a single justice rejecting the parliament impeachment. They note Cheong Hyungsik, one of the six justices, is a clear conservative who was directly appointed by Yoon.
The Democratic Party quickly dismissed Kweon's argument as “absurd and utterly nonsensical” and urged PPP to abide by a November agreement between the rival parties to nominate the three Constitutional Court justices.
Party lawmaker and spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said PPP has “blatantly revealed their true intention to obstruct the constitutional trial.”
There was no immediate response from Han, who during the Cabinet meeting stressed that the government will cooperate with the ruling and opposition parties to stabilize the economy.
There is no clear definition about what an acting president can and cannot do over the appointments of court justices. The Democratic party accuses PPP of trying to drag out the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to determine Yoon's fate.
Time is a crucial issue for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who is favored by polls to win a presidential by-election in the event of Yoon's ouster but grapples with his own legal troubles. Lee could possibly be prohibited from running for president if the appellate and Supreme courts uphold his lower court conviction for election law violation in November.
Yoon faces allegations of rebellion and abuse of power over his martial law introduction. Investigative authorities want him to appear for questioning later this week, but officials at Yoon's office and residence on Monday refused to receive requests for his appearance.
The martial law declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, drew hundreds of troops who tried to encircle parliament and prevent lawmakers from voting on the decree. Many lawmakers still managed to get inside a National Assembly chamber and voted to overturn Yoon's decree unanimously, forcing Yoon's Cabinet to lift it.
Yoon's decree, which harkened back to an era of past military-backed dictatorships, has sparked massive street protests calling for his ouster and resulted in his approval rating plummeting. Yoon's defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have been arrested over their roles in the martial law enforcement.
Supporters of Yoon worry that his early exit would severely hamper the country's conservatives and cause them to likely lose a presidential by-election to the liberals, like they did in 2017, when then-impeached conservative President Park Geun-hye was ousted and arrested over a corruption scandal.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
