President Yoon was ousted. In a historic ruling, the nation’s Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, making him only the second president in the nation’s short history to be removed from office through this process. The court ruled that Yoon’s imposition of martial law represented a grave danger to democracy itself. It further held that this action was unconstitutional and illegal.
Here’s how the ruling responds to Yoon’s clampdown of mid-December. At the same time, he was battling impeachment from the then-opposition-controlled National Assembly. We expect the court to file a short opinion and order soon, so stay tuned for developments. Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae found that Yoon’s conduct constituted a severe betrayal of public trust. This was a serious betrayal, Moon declared at the time of the decision, referring to Yoon. This type of betrayal breaks the faith of the citizenry – the original sovereigns in our democratic republic.
Yoon’s controversial declaration of martial law. His goal was to prevent what he called “anti-state” counter-revolutionary opposition forces with North Korean sympathies from tearing the country to shreds. The damage he caused resulted in ruptures, if not outright destruction, in every arena—society, economy, foreign policy—that he touched.
To justify his actions, Yoon said he had no plans of imposing emergency military rule in the first place. No lives lost, he explained, no injuries from the chaos that his decisions forced. Public opinion is about as bad as it gets for him at this point. According to the latest Gallup Korea poll, an overwhelming 60% of South Koreans think Yoon should be removed from office—for good.
Having wrestled with the issue, the court concluded that Yoon had indeed proclaimed martial law. Yet he took to militarizing and militarizing police forces to undermine legislative power, as nicely. The defendant’s declaration of martial law was unconstitutional and defendant’s actions therefore violated the constitution. So he mustered military and police forces to prevent the exercise of legislative authority, Moon said. The chief justice pointed out that such actions violated the content standards for emergency martial law.
On Monday, the court ruled unanimously in favor of his impeachment. They announced, “We hereowhere issue the following unprecedented ruling, by the unanimous consent of all Justices present. Sadly for the plaintiffs, Yoon cannot appeal the Constitutional Court’s ruling. Now, he is awaiting a different criminal trial related to his declaration of martial law.
As Yoon Suk Yeol is now under grave indictment for insurrection in this lively forthcoming trial. If ultimately convicted, he faces life in prison or potentially the death penalty, emphasizing the seriousness related to his alleged crimes.
His ouster from office has resulted in Han Duck-soo’s rise as interim commander-in-chief. He will serve in this role until a new permanent leader is chosen in the coming 60 days. This departure represents such a profound change in South Korean politics that it does seem epochal. It’s reminiscent of the deeply unpopular former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment in 2017.