Rapid change at the top: South Korea gets third interim president within hours

South Korea will hold new elections on June 3. Choi Sang Mok was supposed to lead the government until then. But he only lasted a few hours. Now, the next politician is vying for the highest office in the country.

South Korea's interim president, Choi Sang Mok, has left his post after just a few hours. The former finance minister had just been sworn in as interim head of state following several changes at the top of the government when he resigned again. After the opposition in parliament wanted to put his impeachment to a vote, Choi preempted the vote by announcing his resignation around midnight. He was succeeded by Education Minister Lee Ju Ho as the new interim president.

"The government should do its utmost to continue to run the state stably without creating a vacuum in state affairs," Lee was quoted as saying by the official Yonhap News Agency. The 64-year-old assumed power on Friday night (local time).

Just a few hours earlier, incumbent President Han Duck Soo had resigned from office, declaring his intention to run as a presidential candidate in the new election on June 3. His duties were then briefly taken over by Choi, who threw in the towel again with record speed.

The backdrop to this unusual personnel reshuffle is a full-blown national crisis triggered by the now-retired President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 3rd by briefly declaring martial law. He plunged the country into deep political turmoil, which ultimately cost him his own power: Last month, Yoon was finally removed from office. The future president is expected to serve the usual five-year term after the election in June.