South Korea’s Court Reinstates Han Duck-soo as Acting President

Photo : AP

South Korea’s top court has canceled the removal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, letting him return as acting president. The court made this decision in a 7-1 vote on Monday, ending months of political trouble that started when President Yoon Suk Yeol was also removed from his job. Han became acting leader after Yoon was suspended, but just a few weeks later, lawmakers voted to remove him too. They blamed him for not stopping Yoon’s decision to declare martial law and for refusing to approve new judges and special investigations against Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

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The court said the reasons for removing Han were not strong enough. Two of the eight judges said the case should have been rejected completely. Now that Han’s impeachment has been canceled, he will take back his position, and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who was leading the country for a short time, will return to his regular job.

Han’s impeachment was part of a bigger political fight that started on December 3, 2023, when President Yoon suddenly declared martial law. This meant he stopped normal laws and gave more power to the military. His decision shocked the country and other nations. Many lawmakers were angry and worked quickly to cancel martial law within six hours. Some even jumped over fences to enter the parliament building and vote against it. Even though martial law ended fast, lawmakers still removed Yoon from power, and Han took his place.

But Han soon had problems with the lawmakers, refusing to approve three new judges for the top court and blocking special investigations against Yoon and the First Lady. Because of this, lawmakers voted to remove him on December 27, and he was forced to step down. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok took charge of the country while the court looked at Han’s case.

Han, 75, has worked in politics for over 30 years and has helped both conservative and liberal presidents. Many people saw him as someone who could work with different political groups, but opposition lawmakers said he failed to stop Yoon’s actions. During a hearing on February 19, Han denied having any part in the martial law decision and asked the court to cancel his removal.

This political crisis has made other countries worry, especially the United States, which sees South Korea as an important partner in dealing with China and North Korea. The problems in South Korea made some people question if the country’s government was stable. Now that Han’s impeachment has been canceled, the leadership is back in place, but many people believe more political fights will happen in the future.