Yoon Suk Yeol's Impeachment Is Upheld

Yoon is formally dismissed from the office of the presidency following a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Korea.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld the impeachment brought against President Yoon Suk Yeol, setting the country up for an ad hoc election due within the next 60 days.

Justice Moon Hyung-bae delivered the court’s ruling in a televised address, where he revealed the verdict against Yoon by a unanimous vote.

Moon noted that “the impeachment petition in this case is lawful” and later said “Yoon's exercise of emergency powers cannot be justified.” The court also confirmed that Yoon issued an order to dissolve the National Assembly during the crisis and ordered the warrantless arrest of opposition lawmakers.

“There was no lawful deliberation or Cabinet meeting regarding Yoon's declaration of martial law,” Moon said. “This violated the procedures stipulated by the Constitution and the law.”

The decision further stated that Yoon violated the political neutrality of the military and compromised the independence of the judiciary.

"The lifting of martial law by the National Assembly was the result of public resistance, not Yoon's intention,” Moon noted, calling Yoon’s deployment of troops to the National Assembly building to obstruct the Assembly’s vote on the declaration as a violation of the law.

Yoon still faces criminal court proceedings on charges of insurrection which are being handled by the Seoul Central District Court.

Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 14 in response to his short-lived declaration of martial law which plunged the country into political chaos on Dec. 3. The National Assembly quickly passed a resolution requiring the state of martial law to be lifted, with all 190 members present of 300 voting in favor.

During approximately six hours of martial law, armed soldiers forcibly entered the National Assembly’s main building as political activities had been prohibited under Yoon’s declaration. Yoon defended the declaration as an act of governance meant to defend the country from “North Korean communist forces” and to “eradicate the shameless pro-North, anti-state forces,” the latter ostensibly referring to the country’s opposition, led by the Democratic Party of Korea.

Following his impeachment, Yoon ignored summonses issued by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), leading to a standoff between authorities attempting to execute a warrant for Yoon’s arrest were blocked on multiple occasions by personnel of the Presidential Security Service (PSS).

Yoon was eventually detained on the morning of Jan. 15 and taken for questioning by CIO officials in a non-violent operation after troops assigned to assist PSS personnel in protecting the president refused to further obstruct efforts to detain him.

In his absence, both Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok assumed the duties of the presidency in an acting capacity, the former being impeached himself on Dec. 27 and returning to office after his impeachment was overturned by the Constitutional Court on March 24.

This story will be updated as more details become available.

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