Lee Ju-ho, South Korea’s education minister and the third in the line of succession following the president’s removal from office, assumed the role of acting president on May 2, placing him in command of the country’s military and diplomatic apparatus.

His sudden elevation follows the back-to-back resignations of former Acting President Han Duck-soo and finance minister Choi Sang-mok. Han resigned to run for president while Choi left after the Democratic Party submitted an impeachment motion over his refusal to appoint then-Constitutional Court justice nominee Ma Eun-hyuk during his earlier tenure as acting president.

Lee, an economist-turned-technocrat who has held various