Impeachment of Han Duck-soo

On 27 December 2024, South Korean prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo was impeached. This came 10 days after president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and Han became acting president.^[1][2]

Impeachment of Han Duck-soo
Accused	Han Duck-soo (Prime Minister and acting President of South Korea)
Cause	Failure to promulgate bills providing special counsel for Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keon-hee Blocking three National Assembly-approved Constitutional Court appointments
Impeachment motion (27 December 2024)
Votes in favor	192 / 300 (64%)
Not voting	108 / 300 (36%)
Result	Impeached Choi Sang-mok becomes acting president and prime minister
Decision by Constitutional Court of Korea
Result	Pending

Opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae announced plans to impeach Han on 24 December after he failed to support two bills giving special counsel for Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee. The motion was formally filed on 26 December after Han blocked the appointment of three justices to the Constitutional Court of Korea whose nomination was approved by the National Assembly.^[3]

After Speaker Woo Won-shik said that Han can be impeached by a simple majority because of his status as a cabinet minister, Han was impeached by 192 MPs on 27 December, with members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotting the vote. Han became the first acting president of South Korea to be impeached.^[4]

Deputy prime minister Choi Sang-mok became acting president until the Constitutional Court's decision on whether to remove Han from office.

On 24 March 2025, the Constitutional Court voted to overturn Han's impeachment, reinstating him as acting president and prime minister.^[5]