South Korea’s opposition leader on Sunday urged the Constitutional Court to speed up the process of formalizing impeachment to ease the “people’s suffering” following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law decree. President Yoon was ousted from the top post by lawmakers on Saturday over a “rebellious” suspension of civilian rule, plunging Asia’s fourth-largest economy into its worst political turmoil in years.
After Saturday’s vote, Mr. Yoon was suspended, with Prime Minister Han Duk-soo serving as interim leader. In another effort to stabilize the country’s leadership, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has announced it will not seek to impeach Mr Han over his involvement in Mr Yun’s December 3 martial law decision.
What is happening in South Korea now?
South Korea’s technocratic Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, who has stepped down as interim leader, moved on Sunday to reassure the country’s allies and calm financial markets. In his first address to the nation as acting president, Han vowed to “ensure stable governance.”
“I will put in all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance,” the career bureaucrat said.
He also spoke to US President Joe Biden on phone. According to a statement from his office, Mr Han told Mr Biden, “South Korea will implement its foreign and security policies without disruption and strive to ensure that the South Korea-US alliance is sustained and firmly developed.” yes.”
According to the statement, Mr Biden told Mr Han that the strong US-South Korea alliance remains unchanged and that Washington will work to further develop and strengthen the alliance with Seoul as well as trilateral cooperation, including with neighboring Japan.
According to the White House statement, the US President “expressed his appreciation for the resilience of democracy and the rule of law in the ROK (Republic of Korea) and reaffirmed the United States’ strong commitment to the people of the ROK.”
“President Biden expressed confidence that the alliance will continue to be a cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Han’s tenure,” it said.
Mr Han also convened his Cabinet and the National Security Council immediately after Saturday’s impeachment vote and vowed to maintain military readiness to prevent any violations of national security.
The 75-year-old interim leader will rule the country for a maximum of eight months, depending on how long the court deliberates on the impeachment motion and what it decides to do.
When will the new government be formed?
After losing the impeachment vote, Mr. Yoon is suspended from office. The country’s top court has 180 days to decide on his future.
In its last such deliberations, which involved former President Park Geun-hye – who was impeached by parliament over allegations of corruption and incompetence – the Constitutional Court took 92 days to review the motion and remove her from office.
The court reportedly needs six votes in favor of impeachment from its nine-member bench. However, with three seats vacant due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, the court will have to vote unanimously to support the impeachment motion or fill the vacancies in the coming weeks.
If the court confirms Mr. Yoon’s removal, a snap election will be held within 60 days. And unlike general elections, there will not be a 60-day transition period for the president-elect, with the winner being sworn in the day after voting.
Who can be the next President of South Korea?
According to analysts, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is a clear contender for the presidency.
Lawyer and political columnist Yoo Jung-hoon said, “Lee has demonstrated strong leadership during the turbulent days since the declaration of martial law and played a key role in passing the impeachment motion,” reported AFP.
Mr. Lee rose from humble beginnings as a “factory boy” and a teenage dropout to support his family. He has leveraged his rags-to-riches story to build political stardom. In the 2022 election, he lost to Mr Yoon by the smallest vote margin in South Korea’s electoral history, about 0.7 per cent.
But his bid for the presidency has been overshadowed by a series of scandals, including a court ruling in November that found him guilty of election law violations, resulting in a suspended sentence. If the decision is upheld, it will deprive him of eligibility to contest elections for the post.
From Mr Yoon’s conservative People’s Power Party, party leader Han Dong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon are seen as possible contenders.
