South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on Friday to remove impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office for attempting to impose martial law on December 3, a move deemed unconstitutional.
The eight justices concluded that Yoon’s declaration of martial law “did not meet the legal requirements for a national crisis.” Yoon, however, was absent from court during the announcement of the final verdict.
The court further stated that Yoon violated the law by deploying troops to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from overturning the martial law declaration. Despite the military presence, legislators succeeded in entering the parliament and passed a motion to rescind Yoon’s decree early on December 4.
The political turmoil prompted Yoon’s impeachment by the National Assembly on December 14, after his martial law decision triggered a nationwide crisis. Several members of Yoon’s People Power Party later joined the opposition to impeach the president, who had been elected in 2022.
In the 300-seat National Assembly, at least 200 votes are needed for a presidential impeachment, and the opposition secured eight votes from Yoon’s party to meet the threshold.
Yoon’s troubles escalated further when he was arrested in January and indicted for abuse of power and leading an insurrection, making him the first sitting South Korean president to be detained. A travel ban was also imposed on him. However, the court released him from custody last month after a 52-day detention.
The Constitutional Court upheld that the impeachment did not abuse the National Assembly’s right to prosecute, rejecting defense claims that the crisis was due to repeated opposition impeachment motions or suspicions of election fraud.
The court emphasized that the gravity of Yoon’s legal violations and their threat to the constitutional order outweighed the national losses from his dismissal. It concluded that the public interest in protecting the Constitution justified his removal from office.
Yoon faces ongoing charges of insurrection and abuse of office. He is now required to vacate the presidential residence in Yongsan District, Seoul. In the meantime, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as acting president.
