The biggest question in South Korea: Who is running the country?
SEOUL — Who is running South Korea?
In the week since President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law, setting off widespread calls for his removal from office, that question has become a national puzzle.
Yoon hasn’t appeared in public since Saturday, when he delivered a two-minute address apologizing for “inconveniencing” the South Korean people and promising not to declare martial law again.
He also said he would leave the “stabilization of state affairs” to his conservative People Power Party, which has refused to go along with impeachment efforts, instead opting to pursue what its leader called an “orderly resignation.”
Party chief Han Dong-hoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo appeared side by side over the weekend to assure the country that Yoon — who is also facing multiple investigations on possible charges of insurrection — is no longer at the helm.
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Yoon “will not be participating in state governance even before his resignation, including diplomatic affairs,” the party leader said without offering a timeline for when the president would leave office.
“The party and the prime minister will cooperate closely to make sure there are no setbacks in the lives of citizens and the governance of the country,” he continued.
All of which has raised the question of who is in charge.
Legal experts and politicians point out that there is no legal basis for either the party leader or the prime minister — neither of whom is a publicly elected official — to take over the president’s job.
“These are two people who have absolutely no authority,” said Lee Kuk-woon, a constitutional law expert at Handong University. “Presenting themselves in this way with no other justification than the president asked them to is unequivocally a violation of the constitution.”
Liberal opposition leader Lee Jae-myung put it even more bluntly: “This is a second coup that destroys the constitutional order.”
Even some members of Yoon’s party have said as much. In a social media post, Hong Joon-pyo, the conservative mayor of the southeastern city of Daegu, accused the party chief of “blackmailing” his way into “insolently playing president.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who stunned the world by declaring martial law, avoided impeachment as his party’s lawmakers boycotted the vote.
“The South Korean public never entrusted you to govern the country,” he wrote. “Given that we’ve come to the point of impeachment, you should also take responsibility as party leader and resign.”
Following the backlash against what many have described as his “self-appointment,” Han clarified that he meant that the prime minister would take the lead but in “close discussion with the party.”
Complicating matters, police announced Tuesday that the prime minister — a Yoon ally who does not belong to a party — is a suspect in the insurrection investigation and summoned him for questioning.
Then there is the question of who now controls the military. The party chief suggested to reporters that Yoon would no longer be the commander but later refused to specify who would be.
The Defense Ministry has said that control of the armed forces legally remains with Yoon. But when asked by The Times whether the ministry had received any official orders from the president since Saturday, a spokesperson said: “We cannot answer that.”
Then early Wednesday, authorities announced the arrest of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun — who resigned last week — over his alleged collusion with Yoon in declaring martial law.
Yoon is at least nominally performing some of his presidential duties. On Sunday, he accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.
As for Yoon, public pressure is mounting for his removal from office. One survey conducted last week by the polling company Realmeter found that 74% of South Koreans supported impeachment.
Lawmakers voted on an impeachment motion Saturday, but it failed to get the 200 votes — or two-thirds of the National Assembly — needed to oust him.
Yoon’s party holds 108 seats, meaning impeachment will require eight or more of those members to break ranks. Opposition lawmakers have pledged to put the motion to a vote every Saturday until it passes. If they manage to get the votes, the matter goes to the constitutional court, which has 180 days to ratify or reject it.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, accusing the country’s opposition of paralyzing the government. Then he backed down.
Separately, Yoon could also face arrest if investigators determine that his six-hour declaration of martial law Dec. 3 constitutes insurrection — one of the only crimes not covered by presidential immunity.
On Monday, a special agency called the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials barred Yoon from leaving the country, the first such move for a sitting president.
South Korea’s constitution stipulates that the prime minister, then a descending order of Cabinet officials, can take over if the president vacates his position or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties.
But whether an arrest qualifies as an incident that renders Yoon unable to carry out his duties has never been answered.
“The country has never been in this situation before so this is something where opinion may be divided among experts,” said Lee, the law professor.
That may not even be the most pressing legal question.
When asked by The Times who will lead the military in the event that Yoon is arrested, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said: “This is not something the Defense Ministry can answer.”
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