South Korea’s opposition leader on Sunday urged the Constitutional Court to expedite the process of formalising President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment to ease the “suffering of the people” after his short-lived martial law decree. President Yoon was voted out of top office by lawmakers on Saturday over his “insurrectionary” suspension of civilian rule, which plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy into some of its worst political turmoil in years.

After Saturday’s vote, Mr Yoon was suspended, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo serving as interim leader. In a further attempt to stabilise the country’s leadership, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has announced it would not seek to impeach Mr Han for his involvement in Mr Yoon’s December 3 martial law decision.

What’s Happening In South Korea Now?

South Korea’s technocratic Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has stepped in as interim leader, moved on Sunday to reassure the country’s allies and calm financial markets. In his first address to the nation as acting president, Han vowed to “ensure stable governance.”

“I will devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance,” the career bureaucrat said.

He also spoke with US President Joe Biden by phone. “South Korea will carry out its foreign and security policies without disruption and strive to ensure the South Korea-US alliance is maintained and developed steadfastly,” Mr Han told Mr Biden, according to a statement from his office.

As per the statement, Mr Biden told Mr Han that the ironclad US-South Korea alliance remained unchanged and Washington would work with Seoul to further develop and strengthen the alliance as well as trilateral cooperation including neighbouring Japan.

Per the White House’s statement, the US president “expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in the ROK (Republic of Korea) and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the people of the ROK.”

“President Biden expressed his confidence that the Alliance will remain the linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Han’s tenure,” it added. 

Mr Han also convened his cabinet and National Security Council shortly after Saturday’s impeachment vote and vowed to maintain military readiness to prevent any breach of national security. 

The 75-year-old interim leader will govern the country for a maximum of eight months, depending on how long the court deliberates on the impeachment motion and what it decides to do. 

When Will The New Government Form?

After losing the impeachment vote, Mr Yoon has been suspended from the office. The country’s top court has 180 days to rule on his future.

In its last such deliberation involving former President Park Geun-hye — who was impeached by parliament over corruption and incompetence allegations — the Constitutional Court took 92 days to review the motion and remove her from office.

The court reportedly requires six votes in favour of impeachment from its nine-member bench. However, with three vacant seats due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, the court must vote unanimously to support the impeachment motion or fill the empty positions in the coming weeks.

If the court confirms Mr Yoon’s removal, a snap election will be held within 60 days. And unlike in typical elections, there will be no 60-day transition period for the president-elect, with the victor taking the oath the day after the vote.

Who Could Be South Korea’s Next President?

According to analysts, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is the clear frontrunner for the presidency. 

“Lee has demonstrated strong leadership during the turbulent days since the martial law declaration and played a key role in passing the impeachment motion,” attorney and political columnist Yoo Jung-hoon said, according to the AFP report.

Mr Lee rose from humble beginnings as a “factory boy” and a teenage school dropout supporting his family. He has leveraged his rags-to-riches story to build political stardom. In the 2022 election, he lost to Mr Yoon by the narrowest vote margin in South Korea’s electoral history, with a gap of around 0.7 per cent.

But his bid for the presidency has been overshadowed by a series of scandals, including a court ruling in November finding him guilty of election law violations, resulting in a suspended sentence. If the verdict is upheld, it would strip him of eligibility to run for office.

From Mr Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, party leader Han Dong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon are seen as potential contenders.