South Korea in the crisis: temporary president Han Duck-Soo resigns!

South Korea in the crisis: temporary president Han Duck-Soo resigns!

Vienna, Österreich - On May 1, 2025, Han Duck-Soo, the temporary president of South Korea, resigned one month before the presidential election on June 3, 2025. In a live speech, Han expressed the desire to "take on an even greater responsibility". This statement was interpreted in the South Korean media as a note that Han could possibly compete as a presidential candidate for the conservative camp. Finance Minister Choi Sang-Mok will take over the official business in the transition period. Han Duck-Soo has had a long career in which he served both with conservative and left-liberal presidents and also worked as a diplomat, including as an ambassador in the USA. vienna.at reports that Han’s resignation of a serious political crisis.

An essential trigger of this crisis situation was the elevation of former President Yoon Suk-Yeol, which was removed from the constitutional court of his office in early April 2025. Yoon is not only confronted with abuse of office, but also because of the treason. In the event of a guilty verdict, he threatens serious punishments, including a lifelong prison sentence or theoretically even the death penalty. The allegations are related to the sudden proclamation of war law in December 2024, which Yoon justified by the fact that the left -wing opposition was infiltrated by communist forces, but without sufficient evidence.

political turbulence and their consequences

Yoon's decision led to the military to be instructed to prevent MPs from the National Assembly from declaring war law invalid. As a result, there was a renewal of the political tensions and the South Korean Parliament found Han Duck-Soo from his tasks to stabilize the political situation. An impressive result of the vote: 192 of 300 MPs voted for Han's survey. The opposition applied for the vote in the accumulating situation, while the government party tried to proceed against the elevation at an injunction, but this failed due to the legal structures. tagesschau.de reports of the violent discussions about the need and the legitimate number of voices for an office.

The existing state crisis affected South Korea's economic growth and unsettled international investors. In the current surveys for the upcoming elections, the left-wing opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung leads to what the situation further heats up and questions the willingness of political reforms and stability.