South Korea's new acting president Choi Sang-mok said on Friday (December 27) that the government has ordered the military to step up vigilance, raising the possibility that the North could take advantage of its political situation to carry out acts of provocation, Reuters reports.
Choi, who is also finance minister, made the comments in a statement after he became South Korea's second acting president in two weeks after lawmakers voted to impeach acting leader Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, fuelling political uncertainty in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The impeachment of Han, who became acting president after Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on Dec. 14 for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, has pushed South Korea's once-vibrant democratic success story into uncharted territory.
The vote to impeach Han came after he declined to immediately appoint three justices to fill vacancies at the Constitutional Court, saying it would exceed his acting role.
