South Korean court reinstates prime minister as political crisis deepens

South Korea’s Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating him as acting president — a position he assumed after President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended for declaring martial law.

The ruling marks the latest development in South Korea’s ongoing political turmoil, which began when President Yoon attempted to impose military rule in December.

“The Constitutional Court has rendered a decision to reject the impeachment trial request against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo,” the court said in a statement Monday.

In a 5-1 decision, with two judges arguing the case should never have reached the court due to lawmakers lacking a supermajority for impeachment, the court determined that Han’s actions “cannot be seen as constituting a betrayal of the people’s trust indirectly granted through the President.”

Upon resuming his role as acting president, Han thanked the court for its “wise decision.”

“I believe that all citizens are clearly speaking out against the highly polarised political sphere. I think there is no place for division now. Our country’s priority is to move forward,” Han said.

Crisis began with martial law declaration

The political crisis erupted when lawmakers defied armed soldiers at parliament to vote down Yoon’s December 3 martial law declaration and subsequently impeached him. Han then stepped in as acting president but was himself impeached weeks later over alleged involvement in the martial law situation and a separate dispute regarding judicial appointments.

The verdict on Han comes as South Koreans anxiously await a ruling on President Yoon’s impeachment. Despite expert predictions of a mid-March decision, the Constitutional Court has yet to announce a date, making Yoon’s case the longest deliberation in the court’s history.

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said the verdict on Han should not be “disrespected” but urged faster action on Yoon’s case.

“The entire nation is losing sleep over Yoon Suk Yeol’s illegal military coup,” Lee said. “Every day, every hour, every minute, every second, the international trust in the Republic of Korea is being broken, the economic damage is mounting.”

Presidential implications

If Yoon’s impeachment is upheld, South Korea must hold new elections within 60 days of the verdict.

Attorney and political commentator Yoo Jung-hoon told AFP that Monday’s ruling “does not have a direct legal correlation with the pending decision on Yoon’s impeachment.”

“The judges did not deliberate on the legality of martial law but rather on Han’s involvement in the case,” Yoo explained.

Yoon, who was suspended by parliament in December, was arrested in January during a dawn raid related to a separate criminal investigation on insurrection charges, which are not protected by presidential immunity. This made him the first sitting South Korean president to face a criminal trial.

He was released from detention in early March on procedural grounds, a move that appears to have energized his supporters.

The political divide has spilled into the streets, with hundreds of thousands of South Koreans participating in rallies both for and against Yoon over the weekend ahead of the anticipated court verdict.

Lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party welcomed Han’s reinstatement and criticized the opposition, saying they should “apologise to the people for paralysing state affairs for 87 days with a hasty impeachment bid,” which he claimed was politically motivated.