Korea to face months of leadership vacuum after impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol

A massive crowd celebrates the National Assembly’s passage of a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol during a street rally in front of the Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Choi Ju-yeon

By Anna J. Park

• Published Dec 15, 2024 4:57 PM KST
• Updated Dec 16, 2024 9:27 AM KST

A leadership vacuum in Korea is feared to disrupt state affairs, diplomacy and many reform plans, after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s duties have been suspended following the National Assembly's vote to impeach him over his botched imposition of martial law.

Judges of the Constitutional Court began, Sunday, to review whether to uphold or reject the motion, a process that could take up to six months according to the relevant law. This will likely result in a delay or halt in decision-making for key policies.

On Saturday, the Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Yoon in its second attempt over his sudden declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which lasted only about six hours but put the entire nation and the world into shock.

Although Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has assumed leadership as acting president, many express concerns that his ability to govern will be limited. The absence of a fully functioning leadership until the next administration takes office raises concerns about potential risks facing the country.

These concerns are amplified as the leadership vacuum coincides with Donald Trump's return to the White House in January. Other world leaders are already lining up to meet the U.S. president-elect to safeguard their national interests, while Korea is unable to engage in similar high-level diplomatic efforts due to the absence of a functioning leadership.

Typically, when there is a change in government in either country, Korea sends a delegation to Washington to discuss key issues in the bilateral alliance, clarify its position and highlight its contributions to the partnership. However, this time, Korea faces the imminent start of Trump's second term without fully capitalizing on the opportunities it could have seized.

Reform initiatives lose momentum

Foreign policy is not the only area facing a lack of effective leadership. Reforms in health care, pensions and labor — areas that Yoon had placed significant emphasis on from the outset of his administration — are also at risk of being stalled.

In particular, health care reforms had been one of the key policies that the president insisted on pursuing, even though the issue has since gone on to become a nearly 10-month-long saga between doctors and the government.

In February, the Yoon administration unveiled plans to increase the number of medical school admissions by 2,000 each year for the next five years to address regional and essential medical service shortages. This initiative, which would mark the first increase in the medical school quota in 27 years, faced strong opposition from doctors. Despite the mass walkout by junior doctors, the government had remained steadfast in its commitment to reform the health care sector.

However, the president's martial law decree has made the reform initiative lose momentum with questions rising over his intent. The short-lived decree included a directive for all doctors, including striking junior doctors, to return to work within 48 hours, with threats of punishment under martial law for noncompliance, shocking many in the country.

Additionally, the budget for the 2025 health care reform initiative was drastically reduced. For instance, the government had originally planned to allocate 392.2 billion won ($273 million) for the training and management of the medical workforce — more than 13 times the amount allocated this year. But the budget passed by the opposition-led Assembly saw a 23.3 percent cut from the government’s proposal.

Given these developments, concerns are rising that the increased medical school quota may be reduced back to the original level in 2026. With talks with the medical community severed, health care reform is highly likely to be derailed.

The pension reform plan is also at risk of being scrapped.

In September, the government announced a reform plan that includes increasing the contribution rate gradually from the current 9 percent to 13 percent, while maintaining the income replacement rate at 42 percent.

As the opposition party has consistently opposed the government's plan, the completion of pension reform appears to be a distant prospect as well.

Political watchers say it is crucial to swiftly establish and activate a high-level consultative council involving both major parties and the government to address the leadership vacuum.

"Korea needs to quickly activate a high-level consultative council, consisting of both rival parties and the government. The council should include the acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and the floor leaders of both parties. It is essential to promptly establish this high-level council to tackle key issues," Eom Kyeong-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, a private political think tank, told The Korea Times, Sunday.

The political analyst also said that he believes the two rival parties' cooperation is needed now more than ever.

"I think it is right for the ruling party to continue playing its assumed role until the impeachment decision is made. Going forward, the ruling party should adopt a more proactive cooperative stance, engaging in cooperative dialogue toward policies proposed by the opposition. The opposition should also recognize the ruling party's role and status," he said.

"I believe it is appropriate for the acting president to take a more passive and defensive approach on politically sensitive bills or major issues. While the government should be proactive on issues affecting people's livelihoods, it should adopt a more cautious approach on politically contentious matters."

However, ruling People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong on Sunday refused the proposal by main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung to form a consultative body between the two parties and the government.

"The PPP is still the ruling party," Kweon told reporters at the Assembly. "It is not right that the DPK acts like it is in charge of state affairs after the impeachment."

Earlier in the day, Lee suggested a consultative body through which the executive and legislative branches of government can work together for the stability of state affairs.

Meanwhile, the acting president pledged to stabilize the nation's political turmoil and restore normalcy.

"I take full responsibility for the unfortunate situation facing the people. It is my last mission in my long public career to settle the confusion swiftly and manage the state stably," Han said during his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik at the Assembly, Sunday.

He said the government will make decisions based on the Constitution and laws.

In response, Woo said, "It is crucial that the Assembly and the government work together to establish and operate a national policy consultative body. Stabilizing the situation and ensuring the stability of the government should be our top priority."

The acting president also held a phone conversation with U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, sharing views on the Korea-U.S. defense posture. Han expressed concerns over North Korea's possible provocations by taking advantage of confusion in the South, stressing communication between the allies.

Han officially assumed the role at 7:24 p.m. on Saturday, after the Assembly's resolution on the impeachment was delivered to the presidential office and Yoon's duties were suspended.