In less than two weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached following the imposition of emergency in South Korea, the parliament also impeached the acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday. The successive impeachments have plunged the country into political turmoil with deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok slated to serve as the interim leader of South Korea.
After becoming the interim leader, Choi directed the military to boost readiness in the wake of potential North Korean aggressions, and he also ordered diplomats to reassure Seoul's key allies like the US and Japan.
“(Han's) impeachment now creates an opportunity for external threats while causing Korea's foreign partners to alienate it from the global community,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Centre for a New American Security in Washington.
“South Korea is now in a far more serious crisis of leadership and governance. The DP's political gambit is actually putting the country's economy and national security at grave risk,” Duyeon Kim said.
Why was Han impeached?
Despite Han's efforts to reassure major diplomatic partners and stabilise markets, he was impeached because he was involved in political strife with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the assembly. Han also refused to accept a DP demand regarding the appointment of three vacant justices' seats at the Constitutional Court to enhance fairness and public confidence in its ruling on Yoon's impeachment, triggering his impeachment.
Significance of restoring court's panel
Notably, restoring the court's full nine-member panel is crucial because a court ruling to remove Yoon from office needs backing from at least six justices, and a full bench will likely increase the prospects for Yoon's ouster.
Han said he wouldn't appoint the justices without bipartisan consent, but critics suspect he was siding with Yoon's loyalists at the governing People Power Party, or PPP, who want to see Yoon regaining power.
(With agency inputs)
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