South Korea’s leadership crisis deepened on Friday as lawmakers impeached a second head of state, the acting President, Han Duck-Soo, in less than two weeks.
The move prolonged the political vacuum that has gripped South Korea since President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the country this month by briefly putting it under military rule for the first time in decades.
Lawmakers impeached and suspended Mr. Yoon on Dec. 14 over the martial law move, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepped in as acting president. But Mr. Han’s tenure would also prove short-lived, as opposition lawmakers voted on Friday to impeach Mr. Han as well.
This was the first time South Korea had impeached an interim leader. It meant that South Korea continued to be without a strong elected leader who could take charge of the government and military in one of Washington’s most important allies, at a time when the country is grappling with North Korea’s nuclear threats and economic challenges at home. The political uncertainty has pushed business and consumer confidence lower and caused the currency, the won, to plunge.
The latest impeachment “suggests to the world the possibility that Korea’s political unrest could be prolonged and worsen,” Jeong Hoiok, a professor of political science at Myoungji University in Seoul, said in an email. This would cause “significant harm to the diplomacy and economic status that Korea has built so far.”
Mr. Han’s impeachment meant that the finance minister and deputy prime minister, Choi Sang-mok, would be next in line to be named acting president. But like Mr. Han, Mr. Choi has no electoral mandate.
The move to impeach Mr. Han on Friday came after he refused to appoint three judges to fill vacancies in the Constitutional Court, the body that will be deciding whether to reinstate or formally remove Mr. Yoon.
At the heart of the matter is how the court might rule on Mr. Yoon’s impeachment. Six or more justices out of the nine-member court must vote in favor of impeachment to remove Mr. Yoon from office. The top court currently has only six justices, after three others retired earlier this year, meaning that the impeachment could be overturned with just one dissenting voice in Mr. Yoon’s trial.
