South Korea to head to the polls after President Yoon Suk Yeol is ousted

SEOUL - South Korea will head into a presidential election within 60 days, with President Yoon Suk ­Yeol’s impeachment being upheld by the Constitutional Court on April 4.

According to the country’s Constitution, a new president must be elected within this time limit after the incumbent’s impeachment is confirmed.

Both cheers of jubilation and cries of anguish could be heard from anti-Yoon demonstrators and the President’s supporters gathered near the court in central Seoul when the verdict was announced in a live broadcast.

The unanimous ruling by the eight justices stripped Yoon, 65, of his presidential powers with immediate effect.

At a press conference after the delivery of the verdict, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik urged South Koreans to “come together with mutual respect”, as “there are no political sides, no religious divisions and no generational gaps when concerning the future of the country”.

“Hatred, hostility, exclusion and violence must be firmly rejected. This is the only way to protect our community and begin unity,” he said.

Yoon had plunged South Korea into political chaos when

he declared martial law in the late hours of Dec 3, 2024,

only to be forced to overturn his decision by the country’s National Assembly a few hours later.

Lawmakers even had to scale the walls of the National Assembly that was blocked under Yoon’s orders, in order to vote to overturn the martial law decree.

On Dec 14, South Korean lawmakers

voted to impeach Yoon

and suspend him from his presidential duties, accusing him of violating the Constitution with his martial law decree, which they said should be reserved for national emergencies or times of war.

The other accusations include an unlawful attempt to suspend all political activities, deploying special forces to block access to the National Assembly so that lawmakers could not overturn the martial law declaration, raiding the country’s National Election Commission office on suspicion of election fraud, and ordering the arrest of his political rivals.

Yoon had defended his martial law declaration as “not an attempt to suppress the people by force, but a desperate appeal to the people using the form of martial law”, claiming to have been backed into a corner by the opposition-dominated National Assembly that had “paralysed” his government. 

But the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that his actions on Dec 3 “constitute serious violations of the principles of democratic governance and the rule of law”, pronounced Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae in a court session that lasted 22 minutes. 

Picking apart Yoon’s defences one by one, Justice Moon said in conclusion that Yoon’s actions had “gravely betrayed the trust of the Korean people”.

“Such unlawful and unconstitutional conduct constitutes an act that cannot be tolerated under the Constitution,” he said.

“The negative consequences and ripple effects of these actions are substantial, and the benefit of restoring constitutional order through removal from office outweighs the national costs associated with the dismissal of a sitting president,” read Justice Moon.

He chastised the former prosecutor-general-turned-politician for “reviving a dark history of emergency power abuse, shocking the public and causing chaos across politics, the economy, diplomacy and society”.

Yoon was not present at the court for the verdict.

In a message conveyed through his legal team accepting the court’s judgment, he expressed deep regret about not being able to live up to the people’s “hopes and expectations”.

He added that it had been his “greatest honour” to serve the nation and expressed heartfelt gratitude to his supporters for their unwavering encouragement “even when I fell short”. 

Yoon’s People Power Party said after the verdict that it “humbly accepts” the Constitutional Court’s decision, and apologised to the public.

His supporters were visibly devastated by the verdict, with some seen sobbing and cursing police officers.

One supporter smashed the window of a police bus with a club to express his anger and was apprehended at the scene.

The supporters later moved to rally outside Yoon’s presidential residence near Itaewon, which he would have to vacate soon.

Minutes after Yoon’s ouster, the phoenix flag symbolising the presidential office was lowered at the Yongsan presidential compound, reported JoongAng Daily.

The government must now hold a presidential election within 60 days of the Constitutional Court’s ruling and announce its date 50 days before it takes place.

With the polls needing to be held by June 3 at the latest, Acting President Han Duck-soo will have to announce them by April 14.

Mr Han, who is also the Prime Minister, pledged after Yoon’s ouster that he would ensure stability in the country’s national security and diplomacy.

He also spoke to the National Election Commission’s chief to urge a smooth snap election, which he said would be key to restoring public trust following the martial law debacle and its chaotic aftermath.

The court’s verdict puts an end to weeks of anxiety and anticipation, as deliberations dragged on far longer than the expected announcement date of March 14, which was more than two weeks after the conclusion of hearings on Feb 25.

The verdicts of the impeachments of former presidents Park Geun-hye in 2017 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 were both delivered within 14 days after the respective final hearings. Ms Park’s impeachment was upheld, while Mr Roh was reinstated.

This makes Yoon the second president to be ousted in less than a decade, and the shortest-serving elected leader, with less than three years in office before his removal. 

Yoon is also facing separate charges of insurrection for the martial law debacle, with trial hearings set to begin on April 14. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.