South Korea’s acting President, Han Duck-soo, was impeached on Friday. This has made Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok the likely president of the country. Han became acting president after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on December 14 for trying to declare martial law in the country at the beginning of the month.Han’s impeachment would make South Korea have its third president in just two weeks.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will assume the post of acting president according to South Korean law. Han was removed after a parliament vote saw 192 members out of 300 approve his impeachment. The opposition Democratic Party, in control of parliament, led the effort to pass the impeachment motion against Han. The opposition had said that Han failed to nominate three justices to fill vacant seats in the Constitutional Court. Han argued that he would not do anything about the matter unless the parties agreed on nominations for the positions; following the vote, he agreed to respect the result.
About Choi Sang-mok
Choi Sang-mok is one of South Korea’s most recognizable politicians and economists. Choi became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance in December 2023. Between January 2016 and May 2017, Choi held the position of Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs and 1st Vice Minister of Economy and Finance. Choi represented South Korea at various international forums, including the Korea-LAC Trade & Innovation Forum.
