The recent plane crash marks a significant challenge for South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who was appointed interim leader just days prior amid a political crisis at the highest levels of government.
Choi arrived at the crash site, located approximately 190 miles from Seoul, around midday Sunday. He instructed government agencies to mobilize all available equipment and personnel for rescue operations, as reported by his office.
The political turmoil began when President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law earlier this month, which sparked widespread protests and led to the most severe constitutional crisis in South Korea since its democratization in the late 1980s.
On December 14, lawmakers impeached Yoon over the martial law declaration, resulting in South Korea being without an elected leader. Initially, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo assumed the role of acting president, but he was also impeached by lawmakers less than two weeks into his term.
Following Han's impeachment, Choi, who previously served as deputy prime minister and finance minister, was appointed acting president. Like his predecessor, Choi lacks an electoral mandate.
Choi has a background as a career bureaucrat, having advanced through the ranks at the finance ministry. He was a deputy finance minister during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017 and returned to government service when Yoon appointed him as presidential secretary for economic affairs in 2022, later promoting him to finance minister.
The second impeachment within two weeks has left South Korea without a strong elected leader to oversee the government and military, particularly concerning given the ongoing nuclear threats from North Korea and domestic economic challenges.
This political instability has negatively impacted business and consumer confidence, contributing to a decline in the value of the South Korean won.
A new government cannot be established until the Constitutional Court makes a decision regarding the reinstatement or formal ousting of President Yoon, a process that may take up to six months.