The Hindu : International : Roh reinstated as S. Korean President

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 15, 2004

International

International

Roh reinstated as S. Korean President

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, MAY 14. The South Korean Constitutional Court today ordered the reinstatement of Roh Moo-hyun as the President, by nullifying his impeachment at the hands of the previous National Assembly. Parliament, elected on April 15, will be convened next month.

Overturning the March 12 impeachment, the Court President, Yun Young-chul, said that "no reason exists to justify'' the action that the previous Parliament had taken against Mr. Roh.

The impeachment had forced Mr. Roh's suspension from office on the main ground that he had violated the electoral laws by voicing support for the Uri Pary ahead of the April 15 parliamentary polls.

By winning that general election, the Uri Party will now hold 152 seats in the 299-member Assembly.

Ruling that Mr. Roh had violated the spirit of the Constitution, Mr. Yun held that the "breach of the Elections Law falls short of a threat to the constitutional order.'' Mr. Roh "did not break public confidence to the extent that his public endorsement should be withdrawn."

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