Wednesday, January 1, 2025 - Senior aides to the suspended President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Wednesday, offered to resign en masse, a day after their office expressed regret over acting President Choi Sang-mok’s approval of two new judges to a court set to decide Yoon’s fate.
In a statement on Wednesday, Yoon’s chief of staff, policy chief,
national security advisor and special advisor on foreign affairs and security,
as well as all other senior secretaries, resigned.
A presidential official, who declined to be identified owing to
political sensitivities, said the aides had repeatedly expressed their intent
to step down following Yoon’s botched attempt to declare martial law on
December 3, but their resignations have not been accepted.
According to the official, the senior secretaries have been assisting
Choi since he took over as acting president.
Two other officials said the aides do not participate in day-to-day
government operations, but are required to report to Choi and attend meetings
when necessary.
The aides’ latest offer came a day after Choi’s surprise approval to
fill two vacancies on the Constitutional Court handling the impeachment trial
against Yoon.
It brought the total number of justices to eight on the nine-member
court.
Any decision in the Yoon case will require the agreement of at least six
judges.
Recall that Finance Minister Choi assumed the role of acting president
on Friday after the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who had been
acting president since December 14 when Yoon was suspended from power.
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