December has become an unprecedented month of political upheaval, marked by the shocking declaration of martial law, the Constitutional Court's pending review of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, and the opposition's push to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo. On Tuesday, Han skipped a review of two special counsel bills — one probing insurrection allegations and the other investigating first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) announced plans to immediately move forward with Han's impeachment, but then reverted its stance. Whatever the intention, the DPK's decision to hold off on the impeachment motion against the acting president, even for short while, comes as a relief. The DPK said it would wait until Thursday to see if Han appoints the three Constitutional Court justices. Thursday also marks the scheduled consultative meeting between the ruling and opposition parties and the government.

As the first such gathering since the Dec. 3 emergency martial law crisis, it presents a crucial opportunity for political leaders to draw on their deepest experience and wisdom to chart a stable course for South Korea into the New Year. By then, the Constitutional Court is expected to deliver its ruling on the president's impeachment case, adding further weight to the decisions made at this pivotal meeting.

The DPK legislators were surely aware of the far-reaching consequences of pursuing a possible impeachment motion against the acting president. Next in line would be Choi Sang-mok, deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, whose key task would be managing the volatile Korean won and ensuring Korea's sovereign credit ratings remain stable. Socially and politically, ongoing impeachment discussions have drawn the public into a legal maze over the number of votes required in the National Assembly to pass such a motion and the line of succession in the Cabinet if such an unprecedented event occurs.

This kind of action by the legislature's largest party would have been unthinkable during the 2016-2017 impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. At that time, political norms would not have permitted such a situation to escalate freely. Additionally, it would have been unimaginable for Park to refuse to acknowledge the Constitutional Court's documents to initiate her impeachment review.

The DPK has moved forward with impeachment motions against several Cabinet members and prosecutors, just as the president exercised his veto power on multiple occasions. The sense of normalcy, despite ongoing bickering, has shifted, as the political landscape has changed. The Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration has revealed a new political reality where basic survival instincts seem to dominate. Perhaps, as former New York Times columnist Paul Krugman suggested in his final column, South Korea is sliding into a politics of "resentment," driven by lack of trust.

Han, the acting president, has the right to review special counsel probes into insurrection allegations and first lady Kim Keon Hee by the Jan. 1 deadline. The two special counsel bills contain a clause allowing only the opposition party to nominate the candidate for special counsel, which the ruling People Power Party argues could make the investigations unconstitutional. When the parties and the government meet on Thursday, they could possibly discuss better alternatives.

With a gloomy economic forecast for Korea in the coming year, plummeting consumer sentiment, and the struggles of the self-employed — the grassroots pillars of the Korean economy — politics must evolve into a more skillful and innovative practice for those involved. The public now demands a more refined approach to politics, with a clear sense of the timeline regarding how the martial law crisis and presidential impeachment will unfold. This element of certainty is crucial, both for the public and for the stability of the Korean economy.