[Impeachment Q&A] How Are Security and Protocol Handled for the Acting President?

President-level Promotion, Previous Acting Presidents Refrain
Salary Remains Unchanged, No Separate Compensation Regulations

As the second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was passed in the National Assembly on the 14th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will assume the role of acting president according to the Constitution. With Han serving as acting president, changes are expected in security and protocol as well.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is adjusting his glasses while attending the National Intellectual Property Committee held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

According to Article 71 of the Constitution, once Prime Minister Han becomes acting president, his security detail will be transferred from the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency to the Presidential Security Service. In the past, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency was responsible for the prime minister’s security, but since the Prime Minister’s Office moved to Sejong City, police officers from the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency have been in charge of the prime minister’s security. Under the Act on the Protection of the President and Others, the spouse of the acting president is also included as a security protection target.

However, based on past cases, Prime Minister Han may decline presidential-level security as acting president. When former President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in 2004, former Prime Minister Go Gun, who served as acting president, declined presidential-level security as a matter of courtesy to the president. Similarly, during the 2016 impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, then Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, acting president, received security in the same manner as former Prime Minister Go.

The protocol for Prime Minister Han as acting president will also be elevated to presidential level. At the Air Force Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony attended by former Prime Minister Go as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the gun salute fired during the salute was 21 rounds according to presidential protocol standards, instead of the 19 rounds for prime minister protocol.

However, previous acting presidents minimized protocol out of consideration for the sitting president’s dignity and public opinion. Both former Prime Ministers Go and Hwang performed their duties at government offices and refrained from visiting the Blue House. To reduce excessive protocol, former Prime Minister Hwang did not use the presidential armored vehicle and continued to use the existing Equus official car, and minimized protocol even at events such as the March 1st Independence Movement Day ceremony.

On the 12th, citizens are watching the emergency statement regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law in the Seoul Station waiting room. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong

Prime Minister Han is expected to receive his salary unchanged at 197.63 million KRW for this year. There are no separate regulations on compensation when the prime minister becomes acting president, and in the past, prime ministers have continued to receive their prime ministerial salary. The president’s salary for this year is approximately 254.93 million KRW.