South Korea court ousts impeached president Yoon

South Korea’s Constitutional Court yesterday 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.

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 separate criminal case.

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

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.

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

Yoon sending armed soldiers to parliament in a bid 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 apologised for failing to meet the people’s “expections” in a brief statement released after the verdict.

The dismissed president “will likely be remembered as a leader who was fundamentally unprepared — and perhaps unqualified — for the presidency,” Ji Yeon Hong, a political science professor at University of Michigan, told AFP.

“He failed to grasp the magnitude of the power entrusted to him and showed a deeply biased understanding of democracy and political leadership.”

Yoon is the second South Korean leader to be impeached by the court after Park Geun-hye in 2017.

After weeks of tense hearings, judges spent more than a month deliberating the case while public unrest swelled.

Police raised the security alert to the highest possible level yesterday. Officers encircled the courthouse with a ring of vehicles and stationed special operations teams in the vicinity.

Anti-Yoon protesters gathered outdoors to watch a live broadcast of the verdict, cheering and holding hands. When Yoon’s removal was announced, they erupted into wild cheers, with some bursting into tears.