South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was reinstated on Monday (March 24) after the constitutional court rejected a parliamentary motion to impeach him. Moon Hyung-bae, the acting chief justice, announced that the motion was dismissed with five justices voting against it, while one supported it and two were undecided.
The court clarified that while the impeachment process was deemed legitimate, there was insufficient evidence linking Han to the martial law imposition and insurrection of impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. Although the court found Han's refusal to appoint constitutional court justices unconstitutional, it concluded that there was no indication of his intent to obstruct the impeachment deliberations.
Following the ruling, Han was immediately reinstated as prime minister and acting president, as the decision took effect immediately. The impeachment motion had been passed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Dec. 27, 2022, after Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14 for his handling of martial law.
Choi Sang-mok, the economy and finance minister, had been serving as acting president since both Yoon and Han were impeached. Yoon had declared an emergency martial law on Dec. 3, which was swiftly revoked by the National Assembly.
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