South Korea impeaches acting president Han Duck-soo in just 2 weeks amid political crisis, martial law fallout

South Korea’s parliament voted on December 27 to impeach Prime Minister and acting president Han Duck-soo, as per a CNN report. The development comes just under two weeks after it stripped President Yoon Suk Yeol of his powers over a controversial martial law order that threw the country into political turmoil. 

The impeachment motion was filed by the main opposition Democratic Party on December 26 after Han declined to appoint replacements for three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, which is set to oversee Yoon’s impeachment trial. 

Han’s impeachment occurs amid weeks of political chaos following Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law on December 3, which lasted only six hours but led to widespread protests. This move intensified the political vacuum that has gripped South Korea since Yoon unexpectedly declared military rule for the first time in decades. 

On December 14, lawmakers impeached and suspended Yoon over the martial law order, with Han Duck-soo stepping in as acting president. However, Han’s time in office was also short-lived, as opposition lawmakers voted to impeach him. 

This marks the first time in South Korea’s history that an interim leader has been impeached, raising new concerns about the chain of command in one of Washington’s key allies.  

The political instability comes at a time when the country faces growing threats from North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and significant domestic economic challenges. The uncertainty has undermined business and consumer confidence, and caused the South Korean won to plummet. 

On December 26, the South Korean won weakened to its lowest since March 2009 in holiday-thinned trading amid the US dollar’s continued rally. 

Analysts said there was little to reverse the negative sentiment stemming from political uncertainty this week, while the strong dollar has not worked in favour of South Korean stocks.