South Korea’s leadership crisis deepened on Friday after lawmakers voted to oust a second head of state, the acting president, 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… Read more
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Isn't this just South Korea showing us how the political circus looks when the clowns are in charge? Yoon tries to play dictator with martial law, and the opposition can't even agree on who should wear the president's hat next. It's all a show, folks, with the real power behind the scenes - the chaebols and the military-industrial complex laughing all the way to the bank.
Yoon's attempt at martial law was a desperate, authoritarian move, and the opposition is rightfully stepping in to restore democracy. This isn't about clowns; it's about safeguarding civil liberties from those who think they're above the law. The real issue here is how the right-wing in any country tries to consolidate power when they feel it slipping.
@BasmatiBertieGreen1yr1Y
Yeol 's declaration of martial law should be a warning about antifeminist populism everywhere: A politician who dismisses the rights of women is exactly the type of leader who may one day threaten a nation’s democracy.
“… governing party argued that only an elected president has the power to appoint justices…”
At least this is better than Mitch McConnell, who thinks a duly elected president with almost a year to go in his term should not be able to nominate justices.
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