Several senior aides of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, including chief of staff Chung Jin-suk, Director of National Policy Sung Tae-yoon and national security adviser Shin Won-sik, have offered to resign, according to the presidential office on Wednesday, but acting President Choi Sang-mok has no plans to accept the resignations.
The acting president believes the presidential office and the Cabinet need to have "all hands on deck" to focus on improving the livelihoods of the people and stabilizing the handling of state affairs, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. In addition to his other roles, Choi heads the ministry.
The Finance Ministry's announcement came hours after the senior presidential aides tendered their resignations en masse, in apparent protest of Choi's appointment of two Constitutional Court justices the previous day.
Though the presidential office did not provide a reason for their resignations, it voiced strong regret Tuesday over Choi's decision ahead of the Constitutional Court ruling on Yoon's impeachment deliberation. The acting president's latest move "goes beyond the authorities of an interim leader," the presidential office said.
Yoon now faces a higher chance of irreversible removal from office with the appointment of the new justices. At least six votes from the bench are required to uphold an impeachment motion, and the latest additions bring the number of justices to eight from the previous six.
The court has 180 days to decide whether to uphold the National Assembly's impeachment motion against Yoon or reinstate him, since the day it received the case on Dec. 14.
This marks the second time that senior aides have tendered their resignations since Yoon's botched martial law decree on Dec. 3.
On Tuesday, acting President and Finance Minister Choi confirmed the nominations of Jeong Gye-seon, a justice recommended by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, and Cho Han-chang, recommended by the ruling People Power Party.
However, Choi decided to hold off on the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, who has purportedly displayed left-wing tendencies in recent remarks, until the rival parties reach a consensus.
Yoon faces a criminal investigation on charges of insurrection and abuse of power over his martial law decree last month. The Seoul Western District Court on Tuesday approved a warrant to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol on the charges, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
