South Korean court reinstates impeached PM as acting leader

A South Korean court has overturned the impeachment of its prime minister Han Duck-soo but has not yet ruled on the separate impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol.

Han, 75, became acting president after Mr Yoon was impeached by the South Korea's national assembly in December after he imposed martial law and triggered a massive political crisis.

But Han was also impeached by the assembly later that month following political strife with opposition lawmakers.

The successive impeachments were unprecedented in South Korea's history and intensified domestic division and worries about the country's diplomatic and economic activities.

In the latest twist in the country's recent turbulent politics, seven of the eight judges at South Korea's constitutional court overturned or dismissed Han's impeachment on - leading him to be reinstated as acting leader.

The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, had served as acting president since Han's impeachment.

The judges ruled that the accusations against him weren't against the law, or weren't serious enough to remove him from office or his impeachment motion didn't meet a required quorum when it passed through the assembly.