SEOUL: South Korea’s main opposition party intends to pursue the impeachment of acting president Han Duck-soo, the party’s floor leader said on Tuesday.
The Democratic Party’s (DP) floor leader Park Chan-dae announced this after Han postponed approving legislation to launch a special counsel investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law.
Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him or restore his powers.
Han has called for the ruling and opposition parties to discuss the matter of a special counsel investigation and other issues.
“Acting president Han made it clear at today’s cabinet meeting that he would not greenlight the special prosecution law,” Park said.
“There is no way to interpret it other than that he is delaying time.”
The timing of submitting a bill to impeach Han could be decided as soon as Tuesday afternoon, local media reported.
With a majority in parliament, DP passed bills this month to appoint a special counsel to pursue charges of insurrection, among others, against the conservative Yoon — and to investigate his wife over a luxury bag scandal and other allegations.
Han did not put the bills on the cabinet’s agenda on Tuesday.
Han’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party has accused the DP of threatening Han for not complying with their demands, at a time when South Korea’s key ally the United States has just restarted planned communications with Asia’s fourth-largest economy under Han’s stewardship.
Meanwhile, Yoon has yet to announce his legal team or appear publicly since a televised statement on Dec. 14, the day parliament impeached him.
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer helping form Yoon’s defense team, told reporters on Tuesday that Yoon is unlikely to appear for questioning on Wednesday, Christmas Day, in answer to a summons by authorities investigating his move to impose martial law.
Yoon is prioritising the Constitutional Court’s trial on whether to remove him from office or to reinstate his presidential powers, Seok said.
South Korean opposition plans to impeach acting president Han, floor leader says
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South Korean opposition plans to impeach acting president Han, floor leader says
- Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him or restore his powers
Five miners trapped deep underground after mudslide floods South African diamond mine
- The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to a labor alliance
- The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines
JOHANNESBURG: Five miners were trapped deep underground at a South African diamond mine after a mudslide flooded a shaft they were working in, mine officials and a labor union said Thursday.
The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions — an alliance of labor unions that includes the main mineworkers union. The congress said the miners were thought to be trapped around 800 meters (half a mile) underground.
Ekapa Mining General Manager Howard Marsden, whose company operates the mine, told national broadcaster SABC on Wednesday that rescuers were pumping water out of the shaft while a separate team was trying to drill a hole to where the miners were believed to be trapped to try to establish communication with them “or any proof of life.”
The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines and was at the heart of the global industry after diamonds were discovered in the area in the late 1800s.
The Minerals Council of South Africa said this month in its annual safety report that 41 miners died in mining accidents in South Africa last year, a record low and down from hundreds a year in the 1990s and early 2000s.
South Africa is among the world’s biggest producers of diamonds and gold, and the top producer of platinum.
