What to know about the reinstatement of South Korea's No. 2 leader and the Yoon ruling to come

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In the latest twist in South Korea’s ongoing political crisis, the country’s Constitutional Court reinstated Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as acting leader, overturning his impeachment by opposition lawmakers three months ago.

The court’s ruling on Monday marks just one front in the deepening turmoil as it simultaneously weighs the far more consequential case of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose December impeachment over his brief but stunning martial law decree has left the country’s leadership in limbo for months.

Here’s a look at the court’s decision and what's ahead:

The prime minister typically holds limited authority as the country’s second-highest official. But Han, a career bureaucrat who has held various government roles since the 1970s, was elevated as the government’s caretaker after South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached Yoon on Dec. 14.

Yoon’s impeachment, triggered by his short-lived imposition of martial law that month, immediately suspended his presidential powers and put his political fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which is nearing a decision on whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.

As acting president, Han quickly clashed with the liberal opposition Democratic Party, mainly over his refusal to comply with their demand to immediately fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court’s nine-member bench.

The composition of the court is a sensitive issue since removing Yoon from office requires the support of at least six justices, and a full bench would likely increase the chances of his ouster. Han said he wouldn’t appoint the justices without bipartisan consent, but the Democrats accused him of siding with the conservatives in the governing People Power Party, which has been campaigning for Yoon’s return to power.

Days after lawmakers impeached Han on Dec. 27, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who stepped in as acting president, filled two of the court’s vacancies but refused to appoint a progressive justice nominated by the opposition.

Seven of the court’s eight justices overturned or dismissed Han’s impeachment, ruling that the accusations against him were either not illegal, not serious enough to warrant his removal or that the impeachment motion had failed to meet the required quorum when it passed through the National Assembly. One justice upheld Han’s impeachment.

After his reinstatement, Han called for national unity and emphasized the need to focus on addressing external challenges stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies.

Han’s case is unlikely to serve as a preview of how the court will rule on Yoon. Han played no meaningful role in planning or enforcing Yoon’s martial law, which was lifted by a legislative vote just hours after Yoon declared it on the night of Dec. 3.

But Han’s reinstatement still struck a nerve with the Democrats, who have recently criticized the court for its prolonged deliberation on Yoon’s case, which has fueled concerns about a divide among justices, potentially paving the way for Yoon’s return.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon, questioned why the court didn’t consider Han’s refusal to appoint the justices an impeachable offense. He said Han’s actions amounted to a “clear and deliberate violation of his constitutional duty to form a government body.”

Lee also called for the court to make a swift decision on Yoon.

Yoon’s office issued a statement welcoming Han’s reinstatement, asserting that the court’s decision proved the opposition’s “excessive impeachment attempts were reckless, malicious, and politically motivated.”

Yoon, who is also facing a separate criminal trial on rebellion charges, stands accused of abusing military power, bypassing constitutional and legal protocols to impose martial law, and orchestrating a failed attempt to dissolve the legislature. But the Constitutional Court likely won’t take a deep dive into Yoon’s criminal allegations, as it’s only required to rule whether or not he can remain in office.

Some experts say Han’s testimony before lawmakers, investigators and the court regarding the short-lived martial law decree could possibly influence how justices rule on Yoon’s case.

Among the various accusations against Yoon, the National Assembly has alleged that he bypassed a constitutional requirement to deliberate in a formal Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law. Han’s testimony has seemingly supported these claims.

While Yoon called 11 Cabinet members to his office shortly before declaring martial law on late-night television, Han has said the gathering did not qualify as a formal Cabinet meeting and that Yoon unilaterally informed them of his decision rather than inviting deliberation.

Han and other top officials, including Choi and Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, have said they attempted to talk Yoon out of martial law, citing potential damage to the country’s international reputation and economy. Under South Korea’s constitution, such powers can only be exercised during wartime or comparable national emergencies.

Protesters stage a rally calling for South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo to step down in front of the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 24, 2025. The banners read "Dismiss Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Duck-soo." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, arrives at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea Monday, March 24, 2025. (Heon-Kyun Jeon /Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo bows during a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

Moon Hyung-bae, fourth right, acting chief justice of South Korea's Constitutional Court, presides over the impeachment verdict for South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the Constitutional Court in Seoul Monday, March 24, 2025. (Kim Min-Hee/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo, center, arrives to hold a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains.

“This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We'll effectively be charging a 25% tariff.”

The tariffs, which the White House expects to raise $100 billion in revenue annually, could be complicated as even U.S. automakers source their components from around the world. The tax hike starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States and the end of what he judges to be a “ridiculous” supply chain in which auto parts and finished vehicles are manufactured across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

To underscore his seriousness, Trump said, “This is permanent.”

Shares in General Motors fell roughly 3% in Wednesday trading. Ford's stock was up slightly. Shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, dropped nearly 3.6%.

Trump has long said that tariffs against auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would cause more production to relocate to the United States while helping to narrow the budget deficit. But U.S. and foreign automakers have plants around the world to accommodate global sales while also maintaining competitive prices — and it could take years for companies to design, build and open the new factories that Trump is promising.

"We’re looking at much higher vehicle prices,” said economist Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “We’re going to see reduced choice. ... These kinds of taxes fall more heavily on the middle and working class.’’

She said more households will be priced out of the new car market — where prices already average about $49,000 — and will have to hang on to aging vehicles.

The tariffs on autos would start being collected on April 3, Trump said. If the taxes are fully passed onto consumers, the average auto price could jump by $12,500, a sum that could feed into overall inflation. Trump returned to the White House after losing the 2020 election in large part because voters believed he could bring down prices.

Foreign leaders were quick to criticize the tariffs, a sign that Trump could be intensifying a broader trade war that could damage growth worldwide.

“This is a very direct attack,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We defend our country. And we will defend it together.”

In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed regret at the U.S. decision to target auto exports from Europe and vowed that the bloc would protect consumers and businesses.

“Tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the U.S. and the European Union,” she said in a statement, adding that the EU’s executive branch would assess the impact of the move, as well as other U.S. tariffs planned for coming days.

As Trump announced the new tariffs, he indicated that he would like to provide a new incentive to help car buyers by allowing them to deduct from their federal income taxes the interest paid on auto loans, so long as their vehicles were made in America. That deduction would eat into some of the revenues that could be generated by the tariffs.

The new tariffs would apply to both finished autos and parts used in the vehicles, according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss the taxes on a call with reporters. The tariffs would be on top of any existing taxes and were legally based on a 2019 Commerce Department investigation that occurred during Trump's first term on national security grounds.

For autos and parts under the USMCA trade pact applying to the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 25% tariffs would only apply to non-U.S. content.

The administration is reasoning that there is excess capacity at U.S. automakers that will enable them to ramp up production to avoid the tariffs by manufacturing more domestically, with the official noting that automakers have known since the Trump campaign that tariffs were coming.

The auto tariffs are part of a broader reshaping of global relations by Trump, who plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on April 2 that would match the tariffs, sales taxes charged by other nations.

Trump has already placed a 20% import tax on all imports from China for its role in the production of fentanyl. He similarly placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products. Parts of the Mexico and Canada tariffs have been suspended, including the taxes on autos, after automakers objected and Trump responded by giving them a 30-day reprieve that is set to expire in April.

The president has also imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, removing the exemptions from his earlier 2018 taxes on the metals. He also plans tariffs on computer chips, pharmaceutical drugs, lumber and copper.

His taxes risk igniting a broader global trade war with escalating retaliations that could crush global trade, potentially hurting economic growth while raising prices for families and businesses as some of the costs of the taxes get passed along by importers. When the European Union retaliated with plans for a 50% tariff on U.S. spirits, Trump responded by planning a 200% tax on alcoholic beverages from the EU.

Trump also intends to place a 25% tariff on countries that import oil from Venezuela, even though the United States also imports oil from that nation.

Trump's aides maintain that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico are about stopping illegal immigration and drug smuggling. But the administration also wants to use the tariff revenues to lower the budget deficit and assert America's preeminence as the world's largest economy.

The president on Monday cited plans by South Korean automaker Hyundai to build a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana as evidence that tariffs would bring back manufacturing jobs.

Slightly more than one million people are employed domestically in the manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts, about 320,000 fewer than in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 2.1 million people work at auto and parts dealerships.

The United States last year imported nearly 8 million cars and light trucks worth $244 billion. Mexico, Japan and South Korea were the top sources of foreign vehicles. Imports of auto parts came to more than $197 billion, led by Mexico, Canada and China, according to the Commerce Department.

Associated Press writers Paul Wiseman and Rob Gillies contributed to this report. Gillies contributed from Toronto.

President Donald Trump waves after speaking at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump arrives at the annual St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)