S. Korea's constitutional court to decide whether to impeach PM on March 24

SEOUL -- South Korea's constitutional court said Thursday that it will decide whether to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on March 24.

The ruling on Han will be delivered at 10:00 am local time (0100 GMT) on March 24, the court said in a statement.

The impeachment motion against Han was passed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Dec. 27 last year following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol on Dec 14 over his botched martial law imposition.

If the motion is rejected, Han will be reinstated, but he will be removed from office if it is upheld.

For the removal, the consent of at least six justices is required. The nine-member bench currently has eight justices.

The National Assembly listed five reasons for Han's impeachment, such as involvement in the martial law imposition, refusal to appoint three constitutional court justices, and vetoes on special counsel bills targeting Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee.

Han denied the allegations, claiming that he opposed the martial law imposition.