South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled on Monday to cancel the impeachment of suspended Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. This decision allows him to return as acting president.
Han became acting president after former President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached. However, he was also impeached later and suspended from his position.
The court’s decision was not unanimous. Five judges voted to cancel the impeachment, while one judge supported it. Two other judges rejected the impeachment proposal itself.
Han was impeached through a parliamentary vote on December 27, leading to his suspension. According to South Korea’s constitution, an impeachment is valid only if the Constitutional Court approves it. Since the court dismissed the case, Han can now return to his position.
President Yoon had earlier decided to impose martial law, claiming national security threats. However, after strong opposition from leaders of his own party and the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, he reversed his decision within six hours.
Due to concerns over Yoon’s leadership, the opposition and some lawmakers from his own party supported the impeachment motion against him. After his removal, Han took over as acting president. However, he too faced impeachment for supporting Yoon.
On Monday, Constitutional Court judges Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-son, Kim Hyung-du, Jung Jung-mi, and Kim Bok-hyung ruled that the accusations against Han were not strong enough to justify impeachment, according to the Korea Herald.
The ruling was announced at 10:20 AM local time. Soon after, Han returned to office as acting president. He answered reporters’ questions at the Government Complex Seoul, held an emergency security meeting, and met with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who had served as acting president in Han’s absence.
Although Han has been reinstated after 88 days, political tensions in South Korea remain high, according to the Korea Herald.
