Seoul, South Korea – South Korea’s Constitutional Court was dismissed Impotence President Yoon Suk Yeol Starting from the office on Friday, ending his turbulent presidency and holding elections to find a new leader four months after he plunged South Korean politics into turbulence Announcement of martial law.
The unanimous verdict won Yoon a huge fall, a former star prosecutor who moved from political newbie to president in 2022 just a year after he entered politics.
In a national television judgment, the court’s acting chief Moon Hyung-bae said the eight-man bench insisted on the dollar’s impeachment because his martial arts decree seriously violated the Constitution and other laws.
“The defendant not only declared martial law, but also obstructed the exercise of the constitution and law by mobilizing military and police forces to hinder the exercise of legislative powers,” Moon said. “Ultimately, in this case, the martial law order violated the substantive requirements of emergency martial arts.”
“Given the serious negative impact on the constitutional order and the major ripple effect of the defendant’s violation of the law, we find that the benefit of upholding the constitution is that by removing the defendant from the office far exceeds the losses of the dismissal of the president,” the judicial summary said.
At a counter-value rally near the old palace ruled in downtown Seoul, people burst into tears and danced when the verdict was announced. As they hugged, the two women cried, and an old man nearby jumped on his feet and screamed with joy.
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Later, the crowd began to cross the streets of Seoul. Some people wear cute blue bear costumes, a protest mascot using opposition colors.
Outside Yoon’s official residence, thousands of supporters cried and screamed as they saw the message of the verdict on huge TV screens. They waved the flags of South Korea and the United States and shouted slogans.
“We will never waver!” a protest leader shouted on the stage. “Anyone who accepts this ruling and prepares for the early presidential election is our enemy.”
No significant violence was reported immediately.
What’s next for South Korea
The election will be held in two months to replace the element of the Yuan, but the rave party against Yin Dan will likely continue and may complicate South Korea’s efforts to deal with President Trump’s “America First” policy North KoreaObservers say ties with Russia are expanding.
Yoon said in a statement released through his defense team that he deeply regretted failing to meet public expectations but did not explicitly accept the verdict. Since he had earlier vowed to end, he had been worried that he would try to resist his removal.
He added that he will pray for the country and its people. “It is the greatest honor of my life to serve our country,” Yoon said.
Yoon’s ruling People’s Power Party said it would accept the decision, but Yoon Kap-Keun, one of Yoon’s lawyers, said the ruling was “completely difficult to understand” and “a pure political decision”.
The country’s acting leader, Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo, vowed in a television speech to ensure “no gaps in national security and diplomacy” and to maintain public safety and order. Han was appointed Prime Minister by Yoon, the country’s second place.
“Respect the will of our sovereign people and I will do my best to manage the next presidential election in accordance with the Constitution and the law to ensure a smooth transition to the next government,” Han said.
The investigation shows that Lee Jae-Myung, the leader of the major liberal opposition Democratic Party, was an early favorite to win the election and chose Yoon’s successor. Lee faces trial on corruption and other charges.
Lee welcomed the ruling and praised the South Korean people for “protecting our democratic republic.”
“The courage of the people facing guns, swords and tanks, and the courage of the troops who refuse to obey unjust orders, led to this huge revolution of light,” Lee said.
Nation still imposes martial law from briefly
Martial law lasted only six hours, but left a political crisis that rocked financial markets and disturbed the country’s diplomatic partners. In January, Yoon was arrested and prosecuted by prosecutors for alleged rebellion related to his statute, which charged him with death or life imprisonment.
According to Yoon’s ordinance, this is the first of its kind in more than 40 years, hundreds of soldiers were sent to parliament, election offices and other locations. Special Operations soldiers smashed windows in the National Assembly and were in trouble with the gathered citizens, shocking the Koreans and evoking traumatic memories of military domination.
Some members of the ruling party, including some, managed to enter the congress to vote unanimously.
During the brief martial law, no major violence occurred, but some senior military and police officers sent to parliament testified that Yoon ordered them to drag out legislators to stop his decree from voting for his decree or detain his political rivals. Yin said the troops were deployed to the parliament just to maintain order.
Conservative Yoon, 64, was impeached by the National Assembly on December 14 by the free opposition-controlled national opposition. Parliament accused him of violating the Constitution and other laws, violating parliamentary activities, attempting to detain politicians and undermining peace across the country.
Yoon said in his final testimony at the Constitutional Court hearing that his statute was a desperate attempt to fight him against the Democratic Party’s “evil”, which hindered his agenda, blasted impeachment and weakened the government’s budget bill. He earlier called the National Assembly “the study of the criminals” and “anti-state forces.”
Some experts say the king may have implemented military rule to conduct an independent investigation into the scandal involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
Without the president’s immunity, Yin could face other criminal charges, such as abuse of power. He was the first South Korean president to be arrested or prosecuted during his tenure.
Yoon served as prosecutor under his former Liberal President Joae In, and then joined the current party in 2021 after a dispute with Moon Allies. A strong and uncompromising public image helped him defeat Lee in the 2022 close presidential election. But after serving as president, Yuan faced criticism that he refused to replace officials related to the scandal and vetoed many bills passed by the General Assembly.
