SEOUL — South Korea’s (SK)  Constitutional Court reinstated Prime Minister (PM) Han Duck-soo to the post of acting president on Monday, striking down his impeachment as he pledged to focus on steering Asia’s fourth-biggest economy through a US “trade war.”

The ruling, which comes amid months of political turmoil in the country, returns Mr. Han to power immediately. He took over as acting leader from President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was himself impeached over his brief imposition of martial law in December.

“I believe the people are making it very clear, in one voice, that the extreme confrontation in politics must stop,” said Mr. Han, who thanked the court for its “wise decision” and the Cabinet for their hard work while he was suspended.

“As acting president, I will do my best to maintain stable state administration, and devote all wisdom and capabilities to safeguard national interests in the trade war,” Mr. Han said in televised comments.

South Korea, one of the world’s top exporters, has been bracing for the potential impact of a range of threatened tariffs under US President Donald J. Trump.

South Korea has already seen US tariffs on steel and aluminum and has been seeking an exemption from reciprocal US tariffs due to come in next month. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump singled out South Korea for applying high tariffs on US exports.

Mr. Yoon’s martial law declaration plunged the key US military ally into its greatest political crisis in decades, and sparked a leadership vacuum amid spiraling impeachments, resignations, and criminal indictments for a range of top officials.

Mr. Han had initially lasted less than two weeks in the post and was impeached and suspended on Dec. 27 after clashing with the opposition-led parliament by refusing to appoint three more justices to the Constitutional Court.

The justices ruled on Monday seven to one to strike down the impeachment.

Five of the eight justices said the impeachment motion was valid, but there were not enough grounds to impeach Mr. Han as he did not violate the constitution or the law, according to a court statement.

Two justices ruled that the impeachment motion against Mr. Han, who was acting president at the time, was invalid from the start as two-thirds of lawmakers in parliament did not pass it.

One justice voted to impeach Mr. Han.

‘CIVIL WAR’
Mr. Han, 75, had served in leadership positions for more than three decades under five presidents, both conservative and liberal.

In a country sharply divided by partisan rhetoric, Mr. Han had been seen as a rare example of an official whose varied career transcended party lines.

Still, the opposition-led parliament accused him of not doing enough to thwart Mr. Yoon’s decision to declare martial law, an accusation he denied.

Lee Jae-myung, head of the opposition Democratic Party, said Mr. Han’s ruling must be accepted but urged the Constitutional Court to swiftly make a decision on President Yoon’s impeachment.

The court is expected to rule within days, though its deliberations have dragged out longer than expected. Mr. Yoon also faces a separate criminal trial on charges of leading an insurrection by declaring martial law.

If Mr. Yoon is removed, a new presidential election will be held within 60 days.

“The court’s continued delay in ruling is fueling concern and conflict… We can now anticipate the situation going beyond a psychological civil war to become an actual physical civil war,” said Mr. Lee, who is leading in opinion polls to win an election if Mr. Yoon is removed.

South Korea has seen huge, mostly peaceful, rallies both in support of Mr. Yoon and calling for his removal in recent months.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok had assumed the position of acting president while the cases of Mr. Yoon and Mr. Han were considered by the Constitutional Court.

The unexpected imposition of martial law on Dec. 3 and the ensuing political upheaval sent shockwaves through South Korea, and raised concern among allies such as the United States under former President Joseph  Biden, who had seen Mr. Yoon as a key partner in efforts to counter China and North Korea.

The martial law in the end only lasted about six hours after lawmakers defied a security cordon around parliament and voted to reject the declaration. — Reuters

PARIS — Parisians voted in a referendum on Sunday to pedestrianize a further 500 of the city’s streets, giving fresh momentum to efforts by the French capital’s left-leaning town hall to curb car usage and improve air quality.

Some 65.96% of Parisians voted in favor of the measure, while 34.04% rejected it, official results showed. Only 4.06% of voters turned out in the consultation, which was organized by the municipality.

This was the third such referendum in Paris in as many years, following a 2023 vote that approved a ban on e-scooters, and a decision last year to triple parking charges for large SUVs.

The referendum will eliminate 10,000 more parking spots in Paris, adding to the 10,000 removed since 2020. The city’s two million residents will be consulted on which streets will become pedestrian areas.

Paris town hall data show car traffic in the city has more than halved since the Socialists took power in the capital at the turn of the century.

The 500 additional streets to be pedestrianized will bring the total number of these so-called “green lungs” to nearly 700, just over one-tenth of the capital’s streets.

Despite recent changes, Paris lags other European capitals in terms of green infrastructure — which include private gardens, parks, tree-lined streets, water and wetlands — making up only 26% of the city area versus a European capitals average of 41%, according to the European Environment Agency. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials on Sunday defended their use of extraordinary war powers to deport scores of Venezuelan migrants despite a judge blocking the move and Venezuela denying US officials’ assertions that the deportees were gang members.

“It’s modern-day warfare, and we are going to continue to fight that and protect American citizens every single step of the way,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on the Sunday Morning Futures program.

Ms. Bondi said the Trump administration’s decision to deport 137 Venezuelan migrants last weekend to El Salvador was justified because they were members of Venezuela’s feared Tren de Aragua gang and posed a safety risk.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Friday, however, that none of the Venezuelans deported by the US to El Salvador were members of the gang, which Washington has declared a terrorist group. Relatives and immigration advocates for some of the men have also denied any links.

The administration used the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law, to deport the migrants on the grounds that they were committing violent crimes and sending money back to Venezuela.

White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said on CBS’ Face the Nation program, without citing evidence, that Tren de Aragua was a proxy of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“The alien sedition act fully applies because we have also determined that this group is acting as a proxy of the Maduro regime,” Mr. Waltz said. “Maduro is deliberately emptying his prisons in a proxy manner to influence an attack on the United States.”

US District Judge James Boasberg said on Friday he would continue to probe whether the Trump administration violated his order temporarily blocking the use of the act for deportations after it failed to turn around two flights carrying the Venezuelans.

The Trump administration is facing a March 25 deadline to respond to his request for more details on the deportations.

Some legal scholars view the situation as an escalation in President Donald J. Trump’s confrontation with the judiciary and say it raises concerns of a looming constitutional crisis.

Mr. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told ABC News’ This Week program that he would not defy Mr. Boasberg’s order but reiterated that the Trump administration would continue its arrests of migrants they deem dangerous.

“We’re going to continue to arrest public safety threats and national security threats,” Mr. Homan said. “We will keep targeting the worst of the worst.”

Ms. Bondi criticized Mr. Boasberg for interfering with the Trump administration’s agenda.

“This is an out-of-control judge, a federal judge trying to control our entire foreign policy,” she said. — Reuters