KEY POINTS
- South Korean President Yoon was impeached by parliament on Saturday.
- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as acting president.
- The opposition leader proposes a national council for cooperation.
- Biden reaffirms the US-South Korea alliance for regional peace.
- South Korea’s central bank and financial regulator pledge measures to stabilize markets.
SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea’s opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, has offered to work with the government to ease political tension as officials sought to reassure allies and markets – a day after the parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over a short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
South Korea’s central bank vowed on Sunday to keep markets stable, while the South Korean financial regulator said it would expand market-stabilising funds if necessary.
US President Joe Biden underscored the strength of the US relationship with South Korea during a call Saturday with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol.
“President Biden expressed his confidence that the Alliance will remain the linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Han’s tenure,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
“President Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the people of the Republic of Korea.”
South Korean lawmakers voted on Saturday to impeach Yoon over his brief declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into some of its worst political turmoil in decades.
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Lee Jae-myung, the Liberal Democratic party leader whose party holds a majority in the National Assembly, urged the constitutional court to rule swiftly on Yoon’s impeachment and proposed a special council for cooperation between the government and parliament.
Yoon’s powers have been suspended until the court decides whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.
Lee, who has led a political offensive against Yoon’s government, is seen as the frontrunner to replace him.
He told a televised news conference that a swift court ruling would be the only way to “minimise national confusion and the suffering of people”.
The court will meet to begin considering the case on Monday, and has up to 180 days to rule. In the case of parliamentary impeachments of past presidents, Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016, the court spent 63 days and 91 days respectively before determining to reinstate Roh and dismiss Park.
Lee also proposed a national council where the government and the National Assembly would work together to stabilise state affairs, and said his party would not seek to impeach the prime minister, a Yoon appointee who is now serving as acting president.
“The Democratic party will actively cooperate with all parties to stabilise state affairs and restore international trust,” Lee said. “The National Assembly and government will work together to quickly resolve the crisis that has swept across the Republic of Korea.”
Yoon’s December 3 imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades, lasted only six hours. Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament in an effort to stop the vote, but they withdrew after the parliament overturned Yoon’s decree.
