The impeachment charges against Han have been dropped which has caused him to be reinstated as the interim President:
The Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating him as acting president in the ongoing turmoil over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law.
Han’s impeachment was dismissed in a 5-1 vote by the court’s eight justices. Two justices voted to reject the impeachment motion entirely.
The ruling came three months after the National Assembly impeached the prime minister and then acting president over his alleged role in Yoon’s Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, among other reasons.
Four of the five justices who voted to dismiss Han’s impeachment acknowledged there were violations of the Constitution and the law in his decision to defer the appointment of additional justices to the court, but noted it did not justify his removal from office.
As the only justice to uphold the impeachment, however, Justice Chung Kye-sun said the violations were “serious” enough to warrant his dismissal.
You can read more at the link, but I think people should not read too much into this dismissal as it relates to impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. None of the justices believed that Han had anything to do with the martial law declaration:
The six justices who voted to either dismiss or uphold the impeachment said there was no evidence to back the National Assembly’s accusations that Han took proactive action to give legitimacy to Yoon’s martial law bid, such as by convening a Cabinet meeting ahead of its declaration.
For Yoon to get his charges dismissed he needed to convince the judges that his martial law declaration did not violate the ROK constitution and laws which is very different charges than what Han was facing. With Han impeachment decision now completed it will be interesting to see if the Constitutional Court releases their decision on Yoon at the end of the week.
Let me get this right, North Korea can regularly fire missiles near and over Japan, but Japan when Japan install missiles on its own territory in response North Korea is now upset?:
North Korea warned Japan against stationing long-range missiles on Kyushu, accusing the country of furthering a “history of aggression,” according to a report Thursday from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Japan is considering deploying an upgraded version of its Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles there at the end of the next fiscal year, Kyodo News reported Sunday, citing unnamed government sources. Japan’s fiscal year runs April 1 to March 31. The deployment to Japan’s southernmost main island would put the missiles — expected to have a range of about 620 miles, according to Kyodo — within reach of North Korea and China’s coast.
Rally against Yoon’s impeachment A rally opposing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, organized by conservative organizations, takes place in Chuncheon on March 22, 2025. (Yonhap)
It is not often South Korea is hit with deadly wildfires like they are currently experiencing:
At least four people were killed, six people were injured and some 1,500 people were evacuated as wildfires fueled by strong winds have scorched areas of the nation’s southeastern region, disaster authorities said Sunday.
The fire began in Sancheong County, about 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Friday and spread to other parts.
Of the six people who were injured, five were seriously harmed. All victims were found in Sancheong, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
Snowfall in Seoul This photo, taken March 18, 2025, shows Gyeongbok Palace, the main royal palace during the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty, covered with snow in Seoul amid an unseasonably heavy snow advisory issued for the capital. (Yonhap)
It seems to me that if this impeachment decision is being released on Monday that Yoon’s impeachment decision will likely be later in the week:
The Constitutional Court said Thursday it will deliver its ruling on Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment over martial law-related allegations next week.
The verdict will be announced at 10 a.m. Monday, the court said in a notice to the press, three months after he was impeached by the National Assembly over a string of allegations related to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law in December.
If the impeachment motion is upheld, Han will be removed from office. If it is dismissed, he will be reinstated.
Under the Constitution, the consent of at least six justices is required to uphold an impeachment motion. There are currently eight justices on the bench.
The motion against Han lists five reasons for his impeachment, including his alleged involvement in imposing martial law, his refusal to appoint additional justices to the Constitutional Court, and his refusal to promulgate two special counsel bills targeting Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Finally people will be able to take a tour of the Korean DMZ again:
South Korea plans to resume public tours of the Joint Security Area, a high-stakes spot shared with North Korea inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two nations, the Ministry of Unification announced Wednesday. The ministry news release said the tours will resume after consultations with relevant organizations, including United Nations Command, and after considering factors such as public safety and inter-Korean relations. The tours could begin as early as next month, an unnamed ministry official told Yonhap News on Tuesday. (…….)
Public tours were halted on July 18, 2023, after Army Pvt. Travis King crossed the Military Demarcation Line — the actual border between the two Koreas — and entered the North. North Korea released King two months later, after negotiations involving the Swedish government.
