How powerful will South Korea’s acting president be?

SEOUL – With incumbent President Yoon Suk Yeol suspended immediately following the National Assembly’s approval to put him in front of the Constitutional Court for trial, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president for up to six months.

Under Article 71 of the South Korean Constitution, if the president is deemed unable to perform his duties for any reason, the prime minister shall assume the powers and duties of the incumbent president.

Mr Han’s role as acting president will start as soon as an authentic copy of the impeachment resolution is delivered to Mr Yoon. Previous cases in South Korea’s modern history have indicated that this process takes at least three hours.

In theory, Mr Han will be entrusted with Mr Yoon’s power, namely, his power to serve as commander in chief of the South Korean armed forces, represent the international persona of the state, issue executive orders in case of calamity or crisis, appoint and dismiss public officials and grant amnesty, among other powers.

History shows that an acting president is also able to exercise the president’s power to veto a specific Bill.

Mr Goh Kun, the former prime minister who served as acting president in 2004 in lieu of the late former president Roh Moo-hyun, vetoed Bills including a revision to the Amnesty Act, which was meant to allow the National Assembly to express its opinion should special amnesty be granted. Mr Roh was the first South Korean president to have stood impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, but was reinstated after two months.

Awaiting the acting president are six Bills that the ruling People Power Party’s Floor Leader Representative Kweon Seong-dong said on Dec 13 he would ask the administration to send back to the parliament for a revote.

Among them are a revision of the Grain Management Act, as well as separate special counsel probe Bills targeting Mr Yoon for insurrection and Mr Yoon’s wife Kim Keon Hee for corruption.

But uncertainties abound over whether Prime Minister Han might exercise his executive power, given that police have also accused Mr Han of involvement in the insurrection case in the wake of Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration on Dec 3.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority of seats at the parliament, is also mulling Mr Han’s impeachment, but the move has been met with mixed views within the party.

Should Mr Han be suspended as well, his replacement would assume his power in accordance with the presidential line of succession.

Under Article 26 of the Government Organisation Act, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok is ahead of other members of the Cabinet in the order of priority. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho is behind Mr Choi.

Mr Lee is followed by Science and ICT Minister Yoo Sang-im, Foreign Affairs Minister Cho Tae-yul and Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, among others. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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