South Korean leaders seek calm after President Yoon’s impeachment

Main opposition party says it will not seek to impeach the acting president after martial law attempt.

South Korea is attempting to reassure its allies as the country’s opposition leader offers to work with the government, in an attempt to restore calm following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Acting President Han Duck-soo spoke with United States President Joe Biden by phone on Sunday, the White House and Han’s office said, a day after Yoon was suspended over an attempt to impose martial law earlier this month.

South Korea’s National Assembly voted on Saturday to impeach Yoon and suspend him from his duties, after he plunged South Korea into political turmoil with his power grab.

Han, who was serving as prime minister after he was picked by the conservative Yoon, was elevated to acting president in accordance with the constitution, while Yoon’s case now moves to the country’s Constitutional Court.

“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,” Han said, according to a statement from his office.

In a further attempt to stabilise the country’s leadership, the main opposition party announced it would not seek to impeach Han in response to Yoon’s martial law attempt.

“Given that the prime minister has already been confirmed as acting president and considering that excessive impeachments could lead to confusion in national governance, we have decided not to proceed with impeachment procedures,” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung told reporters.

Lee, whose party holds a majority in the National Assembly, urged the Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on Yoon’s impeachment and proposed a special council for policy cooperation between the government and parliament.

Prosecutors said Yoon did not appear on Sunday morning in response to a summons for questioning in a criminal investigation into his martial law decision, stating they would issue another order, Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon and a number of senior officials face potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority and obstructing people from exercising their rights.

Demonstrators seeking Yoon’s ouster braved the cold to throng the streets outside the National Assembly building where he was impeached. The crowd was about 200,000, according to police, Yonhap said.

Protesters have been taking to the streets ever since the martial law declaration on December 3, when a swift response from the opposition and from protesters prevented the attempt by Yoon from succeeding.

Yoon’s surprise martial law declaration sent markets and South Korea’s diplomatic partners into a frenzy, as they worried over the country’s ability to deter its foe, North Korea.

Biden told Han that the ironclad US-South Korea alliance remained unchanged and Washington would work with Seoul to further strengthen it, Han’s office said.

The two countries also discussed military provocations by North Korea, Yonhap said, while Han vowed to maintain military readiness to prevent any breach of national security.

The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether to remove or reinstate Yoon. If he is removed or resigns, new elections will be held within 60 days.