Acceptance of Suspension of Korean Duties if National Assembly Impeachment Passed
Controversy Over Quorum but Preventing Further Confusion
Administrative Paralysis and Bureaucratic Chaos Amid Political Uncertainty
Choi Sang-mok "Cannot Handle Livelihood... Please Reconsider"
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is also serving as Acting President, stated on the 27th that if the impeachment motion is passed in the National Assembly with a majority of 151 seats, he will be suspended from his duties, and Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, will begin acting in his stead. In just two weeks, presidential authority will shift from President Yoon Suk-yeol to Acting President Han, and then to Deputy Prime Minister Choi. As the political turmoil leads to a near paralysis of the executive branch, voices from government circles are raising concerns about "how the economy will be managed."
According to the Prime Minister's Office on the 27th, Acting President Han plans to accept suspension of duties and move to the official residence if the impeachment motion against him is passed during the plenary session of the National Assembly that afternoon. Initially, there was controversy over the quorum required for passing the impeachment motion against the Acting Prime Minister, with debate between the majority of sitting members (151) based on Cabinet members and two-thirds of sitting members (200) based on the President's standard. However, Acting President Han is expected to accept the former, as advocated by the Democratic Party of Korea.
A Prime Minister's Office official said, "The Speaker of the National Assembly has the authority to conduct proceedings but does not have the authority to determine whether the quorum is 151 or 200," adding, "However, if the impeachment motion is passed, the government will accept the suspension of duties to avoid controversy abroad about 'who is the head of state in Korea' by debating whether it is right or wrong."
If Speaker Woo Won-shik declares the impeachment motion passed by judging the quorum as 151 or more that afternoon, Acting President Han will be suspended from his duties immediately upon receiving the impeachment resolution at the National Assembly. Deputy Prime Minister Choi, who already holds two positions, will have to assume the role of Acting President as well. While preparing to announce next year's economic policy direction, he will have to receive reports on acting duties and manage diplomatic and security issues. It is practically impossible to perform all these roles properly.
Following a Cabinet meeting that morning, Deputy Prime Minister Choi issued a statement saying, "Our economy and people's livelihoods, which are walking on thin ice amid a national emergency, cannot endure the political uncertainty of an Acting President's Acting President," and earnestly appealed to the ruling and opposition parties to reconsider the impeachment motion against Acting President Han. He particularly pointed out, "If the impeachment motion against (Acting President Han) is passed, the continuous threat of impeachment will shrink the executive branch's capabilities, and ultimately, the existence of Cabinet members will be meaningless."
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Strategy and Finance, is attending the Private-Public Council for Revitalizing the Domestic Economy held at the National Assembly on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
In reality, even if Deputy Prime Minister Choi takes over the acting role, it will be difficult to resolve the current crisis. The Democratic Party is likely to initiate another impeachment motion if Deputy Prime Minister Choi, like Acting President Han, refuses to appoint constitutional court justices or vetoes special investigation laws related to Kim Geon-hee or domestic unrest. Since there will be a precedent for impeaching an Acting President with a quorum of 151 or more, future 'serial impeachments' led by opposition parties against Acting Presidents are not impossible.
The political issue could lead to a scenario where the public service community effectively plays 'hot potato' with presidential authority. The ball has passed from Yongsan (Presidential Office) to Gwanghwamun (Government Seoul Office) and Sejong (Government Sejong Office), resulting in great confusion. A public official working at the Government Seoul Office expressed concern, saying, "Economic instability such as exchange rate fluctuations due to political uncertainty is a serious problem," and warned, "If this situation continues, further conflicts may arise."
With the Presidential Economic Secretariat's operations halted and even the Deputy Prime Minister's position shaken, the 'economic control tower' will find it difficult to function properly. Moreover, this crisis is likely to worsen the confrontation among the ruling party, opposition parties, and the government. Initially, the ruling and opposition parties and the government planned to hold the first meeting of a national stability consultative body the previous day to discuss ways to manage the political situation, but it failed to get off the ground. In the ongoing impeachment phase, cooperation seems difficult unless one side of the ruling or opposition parties makes a progressive change in stance.
External credibility is also at stake. Acting President Han has communicated with U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, and held meetings with the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Korea and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, asserting that "there are no problems in state affairs," but all these efforts have become futile. Inside the Prime Minister's Office, concerns are being raised that "the international community trusted the current acting administration to uphold the market economy, but if that trust is shaken again, external credibility could collapse."
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