South Korea’s acting president, Han Deok-soo, moved on Sunday to reassure the country’s allies and calm financial markets, a day after President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached and suspended from his duties in an attempted martial law.
Hahn spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden, the White House and Hahn’s office said.
“South Korea will adhere to its foreign and security policies without hindrance and strive to ensure that the South Korea-US alliance is maintained and firmly developed,” Han said in a statement from his office.
In a further attempt to stabilize the country’s leadership, the main opposition party announced that it did not want to impeach Han over his involvement in Yun’s December 3 martial law decision.
“Given that the prime minister has been confirmed as acting president and that excessive impeachment may cause confusion in the national governance, we have decided not to proceed with the impeachment process,” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung told reporters.
South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, front left, and its floor leader Park Chan-dae, front right, leave the National Assembly chamber in Seoul after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol. (Kyodo News via AP)
Han, a longtime technocrat elected by Yun as prime minister, was made acting president under the constitution while Yun’s case goes to the Constitutional Court.
The North Korean threat
Yun’s surprise declaration of martial law and the ensuing political crisis have left markets and South Korea’s diplomatic partners worried about the country’s ability to deter a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Biden told Han that the US-South Korea alliance remains unchanged and that Washington will work with Seoul to further develop and strengthen the alliance as well as trilateral cooperation, including with neighboring Japan, Han’s office said.
The White House said in a statement that the US president “expressed his appreciation for the resilience of democracy and the rule of law in Rok and reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to the people of the ROK,” using the acronym. The country’s official name is the Republic of Korea.
“President Biden expressed confidence that the alliance will remain a linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Hahn’s tenure.”
Han convened a meeting of his Cabinet and National Security Council shortly after Saturday’s impeachment vote and vowed to maintain military readiness to prevent any breach of national security.
South Korea’s partners want to see a credible and constitutional interim leadership installed as soon as possible, said Philip Turner, New Zealand’s former ambassador to South Korea.
“They will be happy to see Prime Minister Han take over as acting president,” he said. “He is capable, experienced and well respected in foreign capitals.”
But even with an acting president in place, international partners face months of uncertainty before electing a new president and establishing a new government, Turner added.
The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether to remove or reinstate Yun. If he is removed from office or resigns, a new election will be held within 60 days.
“During that time Korea’s highly skilled professional bureaucracy can be relied upon to run the country’s foreign policy, but it will be difficult for them to provide clear direction,” Turner said.
Financial results
South Korean shares rose for a fourth straight session on Friday on hopes of easing political uncertainty following a failed vote a week ago to impeach parliament.
Lee, the leader of the Democratic Party, said the main issue was the decline in consumption due to insufficient domestic demand and a reduction in the government’s fiscal role.
He called for the formation of a National Stability Council comprising the government and parliament to discuss issues of finance, economy and public life.
“To address this, I think it is necessary to discuss a supplementary budget immediately,” Lee said, adding that the supplementary budget could include funding to support small businesses and investments related to artificial intelligence and infrastructure to try to overcome energy shortages.
Parliament, controlled by Lee’s party, passed a 673.3 trillion won ($470.6 billion) 2025 budget bill on Tuesday that slashed the government’s 677.4 trillion won proposal without reaching a deal with Yun’s People Power Party and the government.
By law, Parliament cannot increase the government budget, and at the time the Democratic Party said a supplemental budget might be needed to address spending on people’s livelihoods.
The party said its cuts were mostly to government reserves, interest costs and money allocated to the office of the president, prosecutors and auditors for classified work. The government accused parliament of delaying the project by cutting projects for small businesses.
An impasse over budget issues was one of the justifications cited by Yun for imposing martial law.
Why should you buy our membership?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be confused and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package