Han Duck-soo, South Korea’s prime minister and acting president, speaks during a news conference after lawmakers passed a motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 14, 2024.
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South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Monday struck down Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment, local media reported, reinstating him as acting president.
He will take over the post from Choi Sang-mok, current acting president and finance minister.
Han was impeached by the opposition Democratic Party in December, after he reportedly refused to appoint three justices to the Constitutional Court that was looking into the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he briefly imposed martial law.
Choi appointed two of the three justices after he took over as acting president.
Han’s impeachment was dismissed in a 5-1 vote by the court’s eight justices, while two justices rejected the motion entirely, according to domestic media outlet Yonhap.
South Korea’s presidential office welcomed Han’s reinstatement, adding the court ruling proved that the country’s parliament had abused its authority to impeach officials, local media reported.
The verdict on Han comes ahead of an appeals court ruling due Wednesday on opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung, who was found guilty of violating election laws last November. Lee had run against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election.
If found guilty by the appeals court, he may lose his parliamentary seat and be disqualified from running in the next presidential race.
The court has not revealed a date for ruling on Yoon’s impeachment. It has 180 days starting Dec. 14 to give a verdict.
South Korea has been in political turmoil since Yoon imposed martial law on Dec. 3, only to revoke it within hours as parliamentarians rushed to the country’s National Assembly to vote down the decree.
He was impeached on Dec. 14, with all opposition lawmakers and at least 12 members of Yoon’s People’s Power Party joining hands to pass the impeachment motion. The country has seen several protests organized by Yoon’s opponents and his supporters.
Should Yoon’s impeachment be upheld, South Korea must call an election within 60 days of the president’s removal. If the impeachment is struck down, Yoon will be restored to office.
