S Korea court reinstates impeached PM Han as acting president

SEOUL

Moon Hyung-bae, fourth right, acting chief justice of South Korea's Constitutional Court, presides over the impeachment verdict for South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the Constitutional Court in Seoul Monday, March 24, 2025.

South Korea's Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating him as acting president, a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.

The court ruling is the latest development in South Korea's complex and sprawling political crisis, which President Yoon Suk Yeol started with a short-lived attempt to subvert civilian rule in December.

Lawmakers defied armed soldiers at parliament to vote down Yoon's Dec. 3 martial law declaration and impeached him soon after, with Han stepping in as acting president.

But he was himself impeached by lawmakers just weeks later over his purported involvement in the martial law debacle, plus a dispute over judicial appointments.

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

The court ruled five-to-one against Han's impeachment, with two judges arguing the case should not have made it to court as lawmakers did not have a super majority to impeach him in the first place.

Han's actions while in office "cannot be seen as constituting a betrayal of the people's trust indirectly granted through the President" the court ruled.

The decision is effective immediately and cannot be appealed.

Han, who immediately resumed the acting presidency on Monday, thanked the Constitutional Court for its "wise decision."

"I believe that all citizens are clearly speaking out against the highly polarized political sphere. I think there is no place for division now. Our country's priority is to move forward," he added.

The court's decision was closely watched as it comes ahead of a highly anticipated ruling on suspended President Yoon's impeachment, the date of which has not yet been announced.

Despite experts predicting a verdict on that case by mid-March, the Constitutional Court has yet to rule, making Yoon's case the longest deliberation in its history.