Who is Han Duck Soo, South Korea's new acting President after Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment?
Han Duck-Soo is a career technocrat with wide range of experience and a reputation for making rational decisions.
South Korea's prime minister Han Duck-Soo became the country's acting President following the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday for his attempt to impose a short-lived martial law.
The acting president vowed to ensure “no vacuum” in the administration in his first public address after assuming charge. Han also said his entire cabinet would “work hard” to maintain the trust of his country's allies, mainly the United States and Japan.
Who is Han Duck-Soo?
Han Duck-Soo is a career technocrat with a wide range of experience and a reputation for making rational decisions, a Reuters report said. His career transcending party lines is expected to help a country sharply divided by partisan political rhetoric.
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The 75-year-old acting president has served under both conservative and liberal presidents in various leadership positions for over three decades. Han has served as the finance minister, ambassador to the OECD and also headed various think tanks.
As the trade minister and Seoul's ambassador to the US, he played a key role in signing the US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Han's fluency in English was credited as his advantage when he assisted the US Congress in approving the FTA.
Han has also served as a board member of S-Oil, a South Korean refining unit of oil giant Saudi Aramco.
“He has served in key posts in state affairs solely through recognition of his skills and expertise, unrelated to political factions,” the embattled former president said about Han when appointing him as the prime minister in 2022.
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A former government official, who wished to remain anonymous told Reuters that Han is the “right candidate” to execute national affairs while overseeing and coordinating the Cabinet. “He is a civil servant through and through who didn't take on a political colour despite working under (five presidents),” he added.
Han is under lens too
South Korea's investigative agencies probing former president Yoon is also looking into Han's role in the imposition of controversial martial law. Analysts say his term could be disrupted by potential criminal investigations.
Han is expected to lead the country until the country's Constitutional Court decides whether to remove Yoon as the symbolic president or restore his powers. If Yoon is removed by court, a presidential election must be held in 60 days, until which Han will remain acting president.
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