Acting President Han Duck-soo looks at a document after making an opening statement at a meeting of government ministers held at the government complex in Seoul on April 10, 2025. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo was born in 1949, making him 76 this year. He was born in Jeonju, graduated from Kyunggi High School, and received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Seoul National University. He passed the civil servant exam in 1970.
Han boasts a jaw-droppingly impressive resume. Han has served as the commissioner of Korean Intellectual Property Office, the deputy trade minister, the trade minister, the OECD ambassador, the presidential senior secretary for both policy making and economics, the director of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, the minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the deputy prime minister and economy and finance minister, the prime minister, the South Korean ambassador to the US, and the chairman Korea International Trade Association — all before becoming the prime minister again.
On Dec. 14 of last year, he became the acting president after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol. I thought he’d appoint the three nominees the Democratic Party selected to serve as Constitutional Court justices and quietly administer state affairs until a snap presidential election was called. But I was wrong. He refused to appoint the court justice nominees. That was the first “Han Duck-soo crisis.”
Han’s stance was difficult to understand. The Constitutional Court later determined that the president does not have the authority to refuse to appoint nominees to the court selected by National Assembly lawmakers. Han is a smart man, so he is well aware of that. So why did he refuse?
On Dec. 27, the Democratic Party passed an impeachment motion against Han. Han’s position as acting president was filled by Choi Sang-mok, the deputy prime minister and finance minister. Choi appointed Cho Han-chang and Chung Kye-sun to the Constitutional Court. The Democratic Party filed a competence dispute with the Constitutional Court, which upheld that the National Assembly’s authority to select justices had been infringed upon by Han’s refusal to appoint them. Still, Choi refused to comply with the Constitutional Court’s decision and stood his ground. It was truly unbelievable.
On March 24 of this year, the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment motion filed against Han, returning him to his post as acting president. I thought that surely he would respect the court’s decision and immediately appoint Ma Eun-hyeok, the final nominee to fill the vacant seat on the court, and oversee the snap presidential election as his final duty in office.
I was wrong. He appointed Ma, but also nominated Lee Wan-kyu, minister of government legislation and a close associate of Yoon, and Ham Sang-hun, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court, to serve as justices on the Constitutional Court once the terms of two current justices expire. That was the second Han Duck-soo crisis.
It was a move that was difficult to understand. It’s common sense that when the presidency is vacated, the acting president should heed certain limits on exercising presidential authority. Han is smart, so he is sure to be aware of this.
“For instance, authority related to the makeup of the judiciary, such as appointments of justices on the Constitutional Court and the court’s chief justice, as well as Supreme Court justices and the chief justice, should be viewed as outside the purview of the acting president,” Sung Nak-in wrote in his text “Constitutional Law” in 2022. “An acting president should also refrain from appointing members of the Cabinet and top positions within the executive branch.”
Sung Nak-in’s book “Constitutional Law.”
What are we to do about this situation? The National Assembly quelled the first crisis caused by Han. The Constitutional Court needs to quell the second.
Attorney Kim Jung-hwan of Dodam Law Firm proposed a constitutional complaint while filing for an injunction to invalidate Han’s nominations. The argument is that Han’s nominations as the acting president violate Article 27, Paragraph 1, of the Constitution, which states, “All citizens shall have the right to be tried in conformity with the Act by judges qualified under the Constitution and the Act.”
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called Han’s nominations a grave violation of the constitutional order and an act of infringing upon the National Assembly’s authority to appoint people to constitutional bodies. Woo filed a case to dispute Han’s authority to nominate justices as well as an injunction against the nominations.
Constitutional complaints and competence dispute cases take a long time. Injunctions, however, do not. If five or more justices on the bench approve it, it is decided. If the Constitutional Court approves the injunction before Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-son retire on Friday, then the process for Han’s nomination of Lee Wan-kyu and Ham Sang-hoon comes to a halt.
The president who is elected in the snap election on June 3 can then appoint the new justices. That is the proper, most sensible way to do it. I look forward to the Constitutional Court making a wise decision on the matter.
But seriously, why is Han doing this? During the first Han Duck-soo crisis, I offered three possible explanations for Han’s bizarre behavior: he was much more intimately involved in the insurrection than we know, he had ambitions of running for president, or he was attempting to shirk responsibility. The same goes for this time around.
The most likely explanation is that he was involved in the insurrection. Han has claimed that he was unaware of Yoon’s plans for martial law ahead of time. Yoon made the same claim.
But the thing is, what would happen if it turns out that Yoon consulted Han beforehand, and that both are lying?
The moment Yoon says, “Actually, I discussed martial law with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo beforehand,” Han becomes an accomplice in the insurrection charges. Anyone who is convicted of helping to plan an insurrection, leading the insurrection, or playing any major role can be sentenced to execution, life in prison, or a minimum sentence of five years. Han could be doing Yoon’s bidding as his hostage.
The theory that Han has presidential ambitions is also valid. Allegedly, US President Donald Trump asked Han over the phone if he plans on running in the snap election. It’s unlikely that Trump, who is unaware of the situation in Korea, asked this out of the blue. Someone within the prime minister’s office or the presidential office likely leaked the possibility of Han’s presidential run to the US.
Many People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers and local council members are pressing for Han to throw his hat into the ring. During a press conference on Wednesday, a reporter asked party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong about concerns about a vacuum in state leadership if Han runs for president. This was Kweon’s answer: “The Republic of Korea government is run as a system, so there is a slight risk, but I don’t think there will be any major confusion.”
There’s no way of reading this other than as a call for Han to run. For Han to partake in the PPP primary, he’ll need to register as a candidate by Tuesday. There is also the option of running as an independent and then joining the PPP ticket later on. It’s all up to Han. Han had been requested to appear before the National Assembly on Monday for questioning, but refused to show up.
PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong speaks at a press conference about the upcoming presidential election on April 9, 2025. (Yonhap)
The third theory, that he is evading responsibility, may also ring true. Han is a career civil servant. Civil servants are not like politicians; they do not make risky decisions that can explode in their face down the line.
During the first Han Duck-soo crisis, I wrote an article about Han’s time as a student at Kyunggi High School. This was back when students had to take a national exam for high school admission. Kyunggi was where the country’s top students ended up. Acting Presidents Choi Kyu-hah, Goh Kun, Hwang Kyo-ahn, and Han Duck-soo all graduated from Kyunggi High. One well-mannered reader sent me the following message:
“I’m reminded of the past. From Dec. 12, 1979, to May 18, 1980, acting President Choi Kyu-hah, acting Prime Minister Park Choong-hoon, acting National Assembly Speaker Min Kwan-sik, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Yi Young-sup all were Kyunggi High graduates. It was not simply where the country’s top students ended up; it was where pro-Japanese bureaucrats were cultivated during the occupation. Its legacy still seems to live on today.”
I suddenly felt apologetic.
“I’m aware that there are plenty of great people who have graduated from Kyunggi High. I wrote the article under the premise that it’d be nice if people who graduate from the country’s elite schools acted with more poise and dignity in times of crisis,” I explained.
The reader responded.
“Plenty of them went on to establish themselves as working professionals, but those in public office with power were mostly opportunists when hard times arrived. I am ashamed of having graduated from that place,” they wrote.
Reading that, I thought it truly unfortunate that Han has also been an opportunist during crises, carrying on the tradition of Kyunggi High graduates in public office.
I’ll wrap this up. If the Constitutional Court does not accept the injunction, what are we to do? Should we just stand by while Han appoints Lee and Ham to the Constitutional Court? I don’t think so. The Democratic Party needs to pass another impeachment motion.
After returning to office on March 24, Han waited until April 8 to appoint Ma Eun-hyeok to the Constitutional Court. This is nonfeasance — illegal and unconstitutional. His nomination of additional justices is a violation of presidential authority — also illegal and unconstitutional. This is more than enough to impeach him. Of course, we also need to impeach Choi Sang-mok, who also failed to appoint Ma.
The Democratic Party’s leadership seems to be worried that if they pass an impeachment motion against Han, it will hurt former party leader Lee Jae-myung’s chances in the snap election. They shouldn’t be. Retaining national discipline is more important than Lee becoming president. This is not the time for clumsy political decisions.
As Kweon indicated, Korea is run systematically. There is no reason to hesitate. Trump has delayed his tariffs for 90 days. Administering the June 3 election can be done by the next in the line of succession. To save Korea, we need to stand resolute. What do you think, dear reader?
By Seong Han-yong, senior political writer
Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
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