South Korea's acting president reaffirms alliance with US

South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo reassured the country's allies and tried to stabilize financial markets on Sunday, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over his failed attempt to impose martial law.

Han spoke with US President Joe Biden over a phone call on Saturday.

"South Korea will carry out its foreign and security policies without disruption and strive to ensure the South Korea-US alliance is maintained and developed steadfastly," Han said in a statement on Sunday.

Han became the acting president of South Korea by the decree of the constitution.

In order to stabilize the country's economy and leadership, the main opposition party announced it would not seek Han's impeachment for his involvement in Yoon's December 3 martial law decision.

"Given that the prime minister has already been confirmed as acting president and considering that excessive impeachments could lead to confusion in national governance, we have decided not to proceed with impeachment procedures," Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung told reporters.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders are actively seeking a swift action on Yoon's impeachment by the court.

The court will begin hearing the case Monday, and has up to 180 days to rule. But observers say that a court ruling could come faster. Until then, Yoon's powers and presidential duties have been suspended.

Biden notes 'resiliency' of South Korean democracy

During the call, Biden stressed the strong ties Washington shares with Seoul.

"President Biden expressed his confidence that the alliance will remain the linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Han's tenure," the White House said in a readout of the call.

Biden also "expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the people of the Republic of Korea," the White House added.

mfi/zc (AFP, Reuters)