President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law in December 2024, citing immediate threats to national security and claims of electoral meddling that the administration claimed required extraordinary measures to maintain order and sovereignty. This marked a staggering but incredibly short-lived suspension of civil rights in South Korea.
After President Yoon’s unsuccessful effort to implement martial law on December 3rd led to his impeachment by parliament, Prime Minister Han assumed the position. After lawmakers decided to expel the acting president, South Korea’s second head of state in less than two weeks—the country’s leadership crisis worsened on Friday.
According to opposition lawmakers who voted to remove him, Han was blocking the court by refusing to appoint three more judges to the nine-member bench and that his actions were “in violation of a public official’s duty to uphold the law.”
Two weeks after the parliament of South Korea decided to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, the country’s interim president Han Duck-soo was also impeached. The 300-member South Korean legislature required 151 votes to impeach Han but a total of 192 members cast the vote in favour of the same. A two-thirds majority is required to impeach a president while a simple majority is enough in order to remove an active prime minister.
Han, who took over the position when parliament decided to remove Yoon from office, said in a statement that he acknowledged the ruling and “will suspend my duties under relevant laws to avoid further confusion and uncertainty.”
Choi Sang-mok, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, will currently be the acting president after parliament voted to remove Han from office. Choi stated on Friday, before taking over, that ousting Han would cause significant harm to the nation’s economic reputation and urged political parties to reconsider the motion. According to a statement from Choi, reducing political unrest in South Korea is the most crucial task at hand right now.
Since the Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide whether to replace or restore Yoon, he is expected to remain as acting president for a period of a few months.
