South Korea Court Removes Yoon Suk Yeol As President

South Korea’s Apex court on Friday unanimously ruled to remove impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his disastrous martial law declaration, triggering fresh elections after months of political turmoil.

Millions of Koreans watched the Constitutional Court hand down its verdict live on television, with the country’s main messaging app, KakaoTalk, telling AFP that some users were experiencing delays due to a sudden surge in traffic.

“Given the serious negative impact and far-reaching consequences of the respondent’s constitutional violations… (We) dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol,” acting court President Moon Hyung-bae said while delivering the ruling.

Yoon’s actions, the court held, “violate the core principles of the rule of law and democratic governance”, the judges said in their ruling.

The sacked president sent armed soldiers to parliament to prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree “violated the political neutrality of the armed forces”.

He deployed troops for “political purposes”, the judges added.

“In the end, the respondent’s unconstitutional and illegal acts are a betrayal of the people’s trust and constitute a serious violation of the law that cannot be tolerated,” they ruled.

Opposition party lawmakers clapped their hands as the verdict was announced, calling it “historic”, while lawmakers from Yoon’s party filed out of the courtroom.

Yoon’s removal, effective immediately, triggers fresh presidential elections, which must be held within 60 days. Authorities will announce a date in the coming days.

LEADERSHIP recalls that Yoon, 64, was suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He was also arrested on insurrection charges as part of a criminal case.

In a brief statement released after the verdict, Yoon apologised for failing to meet the people’s “expectations.”

Outside the court, AFP reporters heard Yoon supporters shouting threats that they wanted to kill the judges, who decided unanimously to uphold Yoon’s impeachment and have been given additional security protection by police.