S. Korean PM Han reinstated, but split verdict hints at bigger impasse for Yoon's case

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is back in office, nearly three months after the National Assembly voted to impeach him over his alleged role in the Dec 3, 2024, martial law fiasco.

- Wendy Teo

He is also acting president again, as President Yoon Suk Yeol remains suspended over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

In its verdict announced on March 24, the country's Constitutional Court dismissed Mr Han's impeachment, saying that the "cited violations (of the Prime Minister) were not of a level warranting the loss of public trust".

The decision by the eight-judge bench, however, is not the anticipated unanimous one, signalling that there could be greater than expected impasse in the more complicated case of Mr Yoon's impeachment.

Following the court ruling, Mr Han wasted no time in returning to work.

Arriving at the Seoul government complex merely 20 minutes after the court's announcement, he told reporters that he would be devoting "full efforts to ensuring stable governance", citing the need to secure national interests in the ongoing trade war launched by US President Donald Trump, who is set to unleash even more tariffs come April 2.

South Korea is bracing itself to be among the "dirty 15" countries targeted for reciprocal tariffs by the US for having the highest tariffs and large trading volumes with the US.

Amid the power vacuum during the political turmoil following the failed martial law decree, Seoul authorities have been struggling to engage with the new Trump administration.

Mr Han also called for national unity as increasing polarisation over the support for and against Mr Yoon's impeachment has seen tens of thousands of people holding mass rallies for many weekends in a row since the Dec 3, 2024, debacle.