South Korea’s Constitutional Court has unanimously voted to remove President Yoon Suk-yeol following his declaration of martial law late last year.
In a ruling delivered on Friday morning, acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae rejected each of Yoon’s justifications for declaring martial law, stating that the president had overstepped his authority by deploying troops in the streets of the capital in December.
“The defendant mobilized military and police forces to undermine constitutional institutions and violated the fundamental rights of the people. In doing so, he failed in his constitutional duty to uphold the Constitution and severely betrayed the trust of the Korean people,” Moon said.
“Such unlawful and unconstitutional actions are intolerable under the Constitution,” he added. “The negative consequences and ripple effects of these actions are significant, and the benefits of restoring constitutional order through his removal from office outweigh the national costs of dismissing a sitting president.”
Yoon had declared martial law late on the evening of December 3, claiming that anti-State and North Korean forces had infiltrated the government. However, senior military and police officials who were ordered to shut down the National Assembly testified that Yoon instructed them to detain rival politicians and prevent the assembly from voting to lift his martial law decree.
On December 14, South Korea’s National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, but the Constitutional Court’s approval was required for his formal removal. The government now has 60 days to organize a presidential election, with acting President Han Duck-soo remaining in office until then.
Outside the courthouse, Yoon’s critics cheered the verdict, while a pro-Yoon crowd, mostly consisting of older protesters, remained quiet, with some murmuring accusations of “rigged election” and “corruption.”
The case has sparked intense political debate in South Korea, with protests both supporting and opposing Yoon continuing in the weeks since his impeachment.
Despite the Constitutional Court offering 20 seats for public observation of the trial, an overwhelming 96,370 people applied for the slots.
