By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-04-01 00:06:25 | Updated at 2025-04-03 21:00:49
2 days ago
South Korea’s political crisis is threatening to spiral into chaos, observers warn, amid allegations of a plot to reinstate the country’s impeached president, Yoon Suk-yeol.
The opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DKP) has issued an ultimatum to the current acting president, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo: appoint an opposition-backed justice to the Constitutional Court by Tuesday or face impeachment proceedings for a second time.
The DKP alleges that the delay in filling the final court seat is part of a calculated scheme to reinstate Yoon, whose own impeachment has left the nation in political turmoil.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) has fired back, accusing the liberal opposition of attempting to overthrow the government through parliamentary strong-arming. The ruling party has branded the DKP “insurrectionists” and called for its dissolution.
With the Constitutional Court yet to issue a verdict on Yoon’s impeachment, both sides appear to be exploiting the uncertainty to rally their bases, observers say.
“Both parties are … exploiting uncertainties for political mobilisation,” said Jhee Byung-kuen, a political-science professor at Chosun University with contacts at the Constitutional Court. “One or two justices might need more time to sort out legal details, but I don’t believe there is an orchestrated effort to reinstate Yoon.”
