Political chaos in SoKor continue as acting president impeached

International

SOUTH Korean lawmakers impeached Acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday, intensifying the country’s political crisis sparked by a controversial martial law declaration.

Han, who had assumed the presidency just two weeks earlier after President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended, now faces removal from office.

The impeachment vote, held in the National Assembly, passed with overwhelming support—192 votes in favor and none against.

The motion was driven by opposition lawmakers, who accused Han, also the prime minister, of obstructing the impeachment process of Yoon and failing to take action against his predecessor’s controversial martial law order.

Yoon's People’s Power Party (PPP) members protested loudly, demanding Speaker Woo Won-shik’s resignation.

They refused to participate in the vote, which required only a simple majority.

This marks the second impeachment of a South Korean president in two weeks, further deepening the nation’s political instability.

It is also the first time an acting president has been impeached in the country’s history.

Following the vote, Han expressed respect for the parliamentary decision but said he would await the Constitutional Court’s ruling on whether the impeachment would be upheld.

In the wake of the vote, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok was appointed acting president. He pledged to prioritize stabilizing the government, which is grappling with a worsening political crisis and economic uncertainty.

On Friday, South Korea’s won dropped to a 16-year low against the US dollar, highlighting the growing financial instability.

Han’s refusal to appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court has been the center of the dispute, a move the opposition claims obstructed justice.

The court, which will decide on Yoon's and Han's impeachment, is currently short of three judges, and a single dissenting vote could reinstate Yoon.(CMM)