Acting South Korean President moves to reassure allies and calm markets after Yoon’s ouster by Reuters

Written by Heekyung Yang and Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s acting President Han Dak-soo moved on Sunday to reassure the country’s allies and calm financial markets, a day after President Yeon Suk-yeol was impeached and suspended from his duties for trying to impose martial law.

The White House and Hahn’s office said that Hahn spoke with US President Joe Biden by phone.

“South Korea will implement its foreign and security policies without interruption and will strive to ensure that the alliance between South Korea and the United States is maintained and steadily developed,” Han said, according to a statement issued by his office.

In another attempt to stabilize the Asian country’s leadership, the main opposition party announced that it would not seek to impeach Han over his involvement in Yoon’s martial law decree on December 3.

“Given that the prime minister has already been appointed as acting president and given that excessive impeachment measures may lead to confusion in national governance, we have decided not to move forward with impeachment proceedings,” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung told reporters.

Prosecutors said Yoon did not appear Sunday morning in response to a summons for questioning in a criminal investigation into the martial law decision, and promised to issue another order, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Yoon and a number of senior officials face possible charges of rebellion, abuse of power, and obstructing people from exercising their rights.

The Attorney General’s Office did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Han, a longtime technocrat handpicked by the conservative Yoon as prime minister, has been elevated to acting president in accordance with the constitution while Yoon’s case moves to the Constitutional Court.

Protesters demanding Yoon’s ouster braved the cold by gathering in the streets outside the National Assembly building where he was deposed. Yonhap said the crowd reached about 200,000 people.

Jo Seung-woo, 39, a Seoul resident, said that since Han’s role is limited to acting president only, “I hope he will exercise minimal power to run the country stably, instead of actively participating in state affairs.”

About 8.5 kilometers away, a much smaller number of Yoon’s supporters demonstrated in the central Seoul area.

“I really can’t bear to see these illegitimate lawmakers who were elected through rigged elections enacting evil laws and now this huge opposition party acting brutally on their own,” said Yim Jong-suk, 55.

North Korean threat

Yoon’s sudden declaration of martial law and the ensuing political crisis unnerved markets and South Korea’s diplomatic partners, who worried about the country’s ability to deter a nuclear-armed North.

Biden told Han that the strict alliance between the United States and South Korea has not changed and that Washington will work with Seoul to further develop and strengthen the alliance as well as trilateral cooperation including its neighbor Japan, Han’s office said.

The White House said in a statement that the US President “expressed his appreciation for the resilience of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea,” using the abbreviation for the country’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Hahn held a Cabinet and National Security Council meeting shortly after the vote to impeach the president on Saturday and pledged to maintain military preparedness to prevent any violation of national security.

Yonhap said, citing Han’s office, that he spoke by phone with the commander of US forces in Korea, and expressed his concern about the possibility of North Korea attempting military provocations, such as launching ballistic missiles or cyber attacks.

Philip Turner, a former New Zealand ambassador to South Korea, said South Korea’s partners want to see a credible and constitutional interim leadership as soon as possible.

“They will be happy to see Prime Minister Han take over as acting president,” he said. “He is capable, experienced and highly respected in foreign capitals.”

Turner added that even with an acting president, international partners face months of uncertainty before a new president is elected and a new government is formed.

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

Economic repercussions

South Korean stocks rose for the fourth straight session on Friday on hopes that political uncertainty will ease after the impeachment vote in Parliament, which followed a failed vote a week ago.

Democratic Party leader Lee said the most pressing issue is the decline in consumption caused by insufficient domestic demand and the government’s reduction in its fiscal role.

He called for the formation of a national stability council to govern, bringing together the government and parliament to discuss finances, the economy and public livelihoods.

“It is necessary to discuss a supplementary budget immediately,” Li said, adding that such a measure could support small businesses and investments related to artificial intelligence and infrastructure to try to avoid energy shortages.

Parliament, controlled by Lee’s party, passed a 673.3 trillion won ($470.6 billion) 2025 budget bill on Tuesday that reduced the government’s 677.4 trillion won proposal, without reaching an agreement with Yoon’s People Power Party and the government.

By law, Parliament cannot increase government budgets, and at the time the Democratic Party said a supplementary budget may be needed to address spending on people’s livelihoods.

The party said most of the cuts were in the government’s reserve funds, interest costs and funds allocated to the presidential office, prosecutors and auditors for covert operations. The government accused Parliament of delaying projects of small companies due to the cuts.

The stalemate over budget issues was one of the justifications Yoon cited for imposing martial law.

South Korea’s financial authorities pledged on Sunday to act as needed to stabilize markets, while the finance minister said he would announce an economic policy plan by the end of the year.