South Korea’s MBC television reported on the 12th, with President Yoon Seok-hye impeachment through the possibility of greater, who will succeed the president’s office has become the focus of attention in South Korea. Under the constitutional process, Han Duk-soo, the prime minister, will largely become acting president. But the country’s biggest opposition party is investigating whether to impeach Han Duk-soo Han Duk-soo for “Civil unrest” and whether he can become acting president.
Han Duk-soo
Born in June 1949, Han Duk-soo was the fifth of nine children. He attended Gyeonggi high school, a “Mingmen high school”, and graduated top of his class in economics from Seoul University, later, as a secretary of the Economic Planning Institute (now the Ministry of Planning and finance) to study in the United States, received a master’s degree in economics and doctoral degree from Harvard University.
Han Duk-soo passed the Korean administrative examination (civil service examination) while an undergraduate, and later worked in the government economic sector for a long time. During the Kim Young-sam administration, he served as Blue House’s trade and Industry Secretary, Director of the Patent Office, and under-secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. During the Kim Dae-jung administration, he served as Minister of Trade and Communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commerce (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) , which was responsible for trade, as well as South Korea’s ambassador to the OECD and Chief Secretary for Policy Planning and the economy of Blue House.
During the ROH Moo-hyun administration, Han Duk-soo served as director of the Industrial Research Institute and Head of the State Adjustment Office. From 2005 to 2006, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and economy, the South korea-us Free Trade Agreement, which was deeply involved in the ROH Moo-hyun administration’s push and sparked heated debate, was signed. From April 2007 to February 2008, Han Duk-soo became the last prime minister in ROH Moo-hyun’s government. Han Duk-soo also gained prominence during the Lee Myung-bak administration, when he became South Korea’s ambassador to the United States in 2009. In May 2022, Han Duk-soo was appointed the first prime minister (48th term) of the government of Yin Xiyue.
On April 11, Han Duk-soo verbally offered to resign to Ms Yin after her ruling National Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in a parliamentary election, but this was not approved. According to the The Hankyoreh, the government of Yin Xiyue said that the appointment of Han Duk-soo as prime minister had nothing to do with political parties, and that Han Duk-soo’s strength and professionalism were well recognized and that he had held core government positions, “Is fully responsible for and adjustment of the Cabinet, the best candidate to complete the national political issues.”. According to South Korea’s East Asia Daily, Yoon spoke highly of Han Duk-soo’s extensive experience in four administrations.
Mr Han Duk-soo has also caused much controversy as prime minister. On April 5,2022, South Korean media reported that Han Duk-soo had received a large “Consulting fee” from the country’s largest law firm, Jin Chang. To that end, Mr Han Duk-soo took part in a personnel hearing in Parliament, where he was questioned about the dispute so that Parliament could vote on whether to approve him as the new prime minister. Han Duk-soo has denied any wrongdoing in the face of a series of questions from the ruling party camp.
2023 on 18 September, south Korea’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, has blamed the Itaewon Stampede, World Scout Jamboree, sewage disposal at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the death of Marine Corps veteran Choy, submit a motion to Parliament to remove the prime minister. On September 21 of the same year, the case was passed by a vote of 175 for, 116 against and 4 abstentions in the plenary session of the South Korean parliament, mr Han Duk-soo thus became the first prime minister in the country’s constitutional history to push a recall proposal through parliament. However, because the bill was not binding, Ms Yin refused to accept the recall proposal and Han Duk-soo has remained in office.
Yonhap said Han Duk-soo blamed himself for failing to stop martial law. According to reports, once the prime minister was also impeached, South Korea’s deputy economic prime minister and Minister of Finance Planning Choi Sang-mu is expected to assume the post of acting president.