South Korea's acting president speaks out after Yoon's impeachment

"Our government will continue to implement diplomatic and security policies and make efforts to ensure that the US-South Korea alliance is maintained and developed without any deterioration," Acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo said during a phone call with US President Joe Biden on the morning of December 15.

Mr. Han, who also serves as prime minister, stressed the importance of strengthening joint defense capabilities to deal with challenges the two countries face, such as the nuclear threat from North Korea and increasingly close cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

He also explained that all state work will be carried out strictly in accordance with the Constitution and laws in the new situation.

President Biden thanked Acting President Han for his explanation and confidence in South Korea's democracy, and emphasized the nation's resilience, according to Han's office.

Biden said "the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States will not waver and he will continue to work with the South Korean side to develop and strengthen the South Korea-US alliance and South Korea-US-Japan cooperation," Han's office said.

The 16-minute phone call was held after the South Korean National Assembly on December 14 passed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol over the martial law declaration on the night of December 3, causing him to be suspended from office and hand over power to Prime Minister Han.

Under the South Korean Constitution, Prime Minister Han will serve as interim president until the Constitutional Court rules on Yoon's future for up to 180 days.

The National Assembly's impeachment resolution was delivered to the presidential office in Yongsan at 7:24 p.m., marking the moment Han assumed power. The acting president then delivered his first domestic policy speech in his new position about an hour later from the Government Office Complex in Seoul.

Mr Han apologized to the people for the current chaotic situation, and affirmed that the most important task now is to ensure "there are no gaps" in state work.

He pledged to make every effort to maintain the trust of the United States, Japan and other partners, strengthen the "economic emergency response system" and ensure the normal operation of financial and foreign exchange markets.

"Under such a serious situation, we believe that everyone will fulfill their responsibilities," Mr. Han said, asking officials under his command to resolutely carry out their duties "to ensure that the government's operations are not interrupted."

In his first official duty in his new position, Mr. Han convened a cabinet meeting to discuss the transition to an interim presidential system. The acting president reviewed important issues for each ministry in the government and asked them to focus on running their business.

Mr. Han also ordered to strengthen the military's combat readiness, maintain close communication with other countries and restore public order after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Mr. Yoon.

This is the third time that a sitting president has been impeached in South Korea since 1987, after Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016. South Korean media reported that the Constitutional Court will meet on the morning of December 16 to discuss the decision to impeach Yoon, which the National Assembly has just passed.