Returning acting president faces US tariff pressures, political turmoil
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was reinstated by the Constitutional Court on Monday after being impeached for 87 days, called for an end to political divisions in the country.
The Constitutional Court reinstated him as acting president earlier in the day, dismissing an impeachment motion passed against him by the opposition-led National Assembly in December.
"I believe that the people of South Korea are clearly calling for the political circles to stop clashing so intensely," Han said in front of the Seoul Government Complex, 30 minutes after the ruling.
"I believe there is no left and right (in politics) at the moment -- it is an important task (for us to help) South Korea grow upward and go forward," he added.
The acting president is expected to grapple with several major threats to South Korea’s trade, politics and security upon his return.
In his public speech broadcast live on Monday, Han picked solidifying Korea’s position in the shifting global economic order that came with the launch of the second Donald Trump administration in the US in January, as an urgent task.
“With US President Trump’s inauguration, the competition between the US and China has intensified and the world is now facing changes in geopolitics and the shift in the global economic order,” he said.
Han said that as acting president, he plans to focus on securing the “benefits for South Korea” in the face of a global trade war.
His remarks addressed setbacks in advancing Korea's diplomatic and trade ties with Washington due to the ongoing domestic political turmoil stemming from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3, 2024, martial law decree.
Concerns snowballed after Trump expressed negative views on South Korea as a trade partner in an address to the US Congress earlier this month. He claimed that South Korea's average tariff is four times higher than that of the US. He added that the US also helps South Korea militarily and in "so many other ways."
Seoul recently requested tariff exemptions from Washington ahead of its planned steps to impose "reciprocal" tariffs on its key trade partners with large trade surpluses against the US early next month.
Besides the challenges tied to trade and the economy, Han highlighted bolstering security and public safety amid ongoing political unrest ahead of the Constitutional Court’s planned verdict on Yoon’s impeachment.
He ordered Cabinet members and the police to “prevent any disasters” that could happen from violent rallies and “illegal actions.” This marked one of his first orders to the Cabinet upon reinstatement.
He also ordered the Cabinet to continue with rescue operations and support for the wildfires that began in Sancheong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, on Friday and spread across the southeastern region. At least four people were killed, six people were injured and some 1,500 people were evacuated.
In his first luncheon meeting with Cabinet members upon return, Han said the government faces “several tasks” ahead of them and highlighted their duty to “speedily” provide solutions for key issues related to improving the people’s livelihood.
“There are several tasks ahead of us. Even when the government has been placed in a difficult situation, our Cabinet members continue to move forward with a fresh mindset considering South Korea’s external and domestic risks,” Han told the Cabinet members.
“It is the Cabinet’s duty to speedily pursue (the resolutions) for key issues tied to the people’s livelihoods. Whether our state affairs including diplomacy, security, economy, trade, public safety and administration smoothly operate depends on our Cabinet members here and public officials across the country.”
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
