By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s main opposition party introduced a bill to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo on Thursday, a day before it plans to request a vote on the move. , which could deepen a constitutional crisis caused by a short-lived martial. law.

The opposition Democratic Party has threatened to impeach Han if he does not immediately appoint three justices to fill the vacancies on the Constitutional Court. Parliament endorsed the three nominees on Thursday, but Han has not yet formally appointed them.

The court tried the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol because of his declaration of martial law on December 3.

“It has become clear that the Prime Minister and the acting President Han Duck-soo do not have the qualifications or the will to protect the Constitution,” Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said in a statement.

The impeachment motion, which must be voted on within 24 to 72 hours, cites various actions by Han as grounds for his impeachment, including his veto of a special prosecutor bill to investigate alleged wrongdoing behavior of the first lady.

If Han is impeached, the finance minister will take over the presidency.

The Democratic Party has majority control of parliament, but there is disagreement between the parties and some constitutional scholars over whether a simple majority or a two-thirds vote is needed to impeach the acting president.

The interim leader of Yoon’s ruling party, Kwon Young-se, told reporters that impeaching Han was a mistake that would lead the economy to a “big crisis” possibly by triggering the a financial crisis, the Yonhap news agency.

On Thursday, Han said he would not appoint judges until political parties agreed on the appointments, saying it would violate the constitutional mandate for him to do so without such agreement.

Two of the proposed court appointees approved on Thursday were nominated by the Democratic Party and one by Han’s ruling People Power Party. The ruling party opposed the disbandment of candidates, saying it did not approve of it.

Han is under pressure to make the appointments, but political parties disagree on whether he has the authority to do so as acting president.

The court is scheduled to hold its first hearing on Friday in the trial to decide whether to remove Yoon or reinstate him.

Under the constitution, six justices must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Yoon. The court said it could decide without the full nine-member bench.

Yoon, who was impeached by parliament on Dec. 14 in a vote attended by some members of his center-right party, failed to meet a court request to submit legal papers on Thursday. , its spokesperson, Lee Jean, told a media briefing.

On Wednesday, he did not respond to the latest call for questioning in a separate criminal investigation. Investigators sent him another summons on Thursday to appear on December 29.

Yoon’s repeated defiance has sparked criticism and calls from the opposition for his arrest.

On Thursday, lawyers for former defense minister Yoon, who is being investigated on charges of insurrection over the declaration of martial law, said it was meant to alarm the opposition parties’ abuse of the democratic process.

Kim Yong-hyun, the first official to be arrested, is likely to be the first to face a charge that is central to Yoon’s surprise declaration of martial law.