Yoon critics rejoice as court says his martial law declaration ‘violated’ constitution
Celebrations have broken out among Yoon Suk Yeol’s detractors in Seoul after the constitutional court voted to uphold his impeachment and strip him from office.
The South Korean court said in its unanimous ruling on Friday that Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December “violated” the country’s constitution.
Yoon “did not merely declare martial law, but went on to commit acts that violated the constitution and the law, including mobilising military and police forces to obstruct the national assembly’s exercise of its authority”, acting chief justice Moon Hyung-bae said court said in delivering the ruling.
He said Yoon violated his duty as president with the martial law declaration, acting beyond the powers given to him under the constitution and describing his actions as “a serious challenge to democracy”.
“[Yoon] committed a grave betrayal of the people’s trust who are the sovereign members of the democratic republic,” he said, adding that Yoon’s declaration created chaos in all areas of society, the economy and foreign policy.
The judge said:
We hereby pronounce the following ruling, with the unanimous agreement of all justices. [We] dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration in December led to armed soldiers being deployed to parliament and triggered the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
– With agencies
Key events
Yoon: ‘I am very sorry and regretful that I could not live up to your expectations’
Raphael Rashid
Yoon has just released a message following his removal from office. The former president wrote:
Dear beloved citizens, it has been a great honour to work for the Republic of Korea.
I deeply thank all of you who have supported and encouraged me despite my many shortcomings.
I am very sorry and regretful that I could not live up to your expectations.
I will always pray for our beloved Republic of Korea and its citizens.
Yoon Suk Yeol.
Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said that whatever the outcome of South Korea’s coming election, cooperation between the two country would be Tokyo’s priority, Reuters reports.
The early presidential election that today’s court ruling removing Yoon from office has triggered is likely to be held in early June, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency is reporting.
By law, a snap election must be held within 60 days after the court ruling. The law also stipulates that the date for a presidential election must be announced at least 50 days in advance, the report says.
This leaves an 11-day window for the election from 24 May to 3 June, although analysts expect the vote to take place on the last day.
Yonhap continues:
Observers point to 3 June – the 60th day from Friday’s ruling – as the most likely date as the election is likely to be pushed back as far as possible to allow enough time for political parties to prepare for the primaries and campaigns.
When former president Park Geun-hye was removed from office on 10 March 2017, the early election was also held exactly 60 days later, on 9 May.
While presidential elections, general elections and local elections are held on Wednesdays, no such rule applies in the case of an early presidential election, so it can be scheduled on a Tuesday.
If the election for 3 June is confirmed, the formal candidate registration period will be 10-11 May. The official campaign period will run from 12 May until the day before the election, or 2 June.
… The newly elected president will assume office immediately after the election results without a transition team.
Raphael Rashid
Yoon’s legal woes are far from over, as he still faces a criminal trial on the grave charge of leading an insurrection over the December martial law declaration.
Although such a charge is one of only two that presidents are not immune from, now that he returns to being a regular civilian, prosecutors are expected to aggressively pursue the case on the back of the constitutional court verdict.
He could theoretically face life imprisonment or the death penalty, although South Korea is considered de facto abolitionist, with its last execution carried out in 1997.
Yoon’s ousting from office caps months of political turmoil in South Korea that have overshadowed its efforts to deal with Donald Trump’s new US administration at a time of slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
With Yoon’s removal, a presidential election is required to take place within 60 days, according to the country’s constitution. The prime minister, Han Duck-soo, will continue to serve as acting president until the new president is inaugurated, as Reuters reports.
“The constitutional court’s unanimous ruling has removed a major source of uncertainty,” said Prof Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul.
And not a moment too soon, given how the next administration in Seoul must navigate North Korea’s military threats, China’s diplomatic pressure and Trump’s trade tariffs.
Thousands of people at a rally calling for Yoon’s ouster, including hundreds who had camped out overnight, erupted into wild cheers on hearing the ruling, chanting “we won!”.
Yoon supporters who were gathered near his official residence reacted in anger. One protester was arrested for smashing a police bus window, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The South Korean won was largely unfazed by Friday’s ruling, remaining at about 1% higher vs dollar at 1,436.6 per dollar by 0249 GMT. The benchmark KOSPI was down 0.7%, also unchanged from the morning, as the expected scenario was for the court to uphold the impeachment bill.
Raphael Rashid
Now that Yoon Suk Yeol has been removed from office, some Korean media have already stopped referring to him as “president” or “former president”, instead using his name or simply “Mr Yoon”.
This shift in tone is deliberate, emphasising his loss of authority and legitimacy.
Raphael Rashid
A huge security operation has besieged the area surrounding the constitutional court for the past few weeks, reinforced to the max over the past few days.
Riot police had gathered expecting the worst and were ready with backpacks of pepper spray. Huge barricades and police walls were set up across the neighbourhood.
There were legitimate concerns of violence after four people died following Park Geun-hye’s removal eight years ago, and following the recent storming of a courthouse by pro-Yoon supporters.
Despite all the preparations for potential chaos, the pro-Yoon supporters are largely absent from the vicinity despite their vocal presence in recent weeks.
Opposition leader says Yoon ‘destroyed the constitution’
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has hailed today’s court verdict removing Yoon Suk Yeol from presidential office over his martial law declaration.
Lee said Yoon “destroyed the constitution and threatened the people and democracy with the guns and knives entrusted to him by the people”, AFP reports.
Polls suggest Lee is the frontrunner in elections triggered by Yoon’s removal.
Yoon’s party says it accepts verdict and makes ‘sincere apology to the people’
The political party of Yoon Suk Yeol says it accepts the verdict upholding his impeachment and stripping him of office.
“It is regrettable, but the People Power party solemnly accepts and humbly respects the constitutional court’s decision,” legislator Kwon Young-se said on Friday.
“We extend our sincere apology to the people,” Agence France-Presse also quoted him as saying.
Raphael Rashid
A momentous day.
The fear sparked by Yoon’s martial law declaration has been answered with his removal from office.
As the court delivered its verdict, crowds outside Anguk station erupted in tears of joy, shouting “We have won!”
Nearby, thousands of riot police stood on standby, but pro-Yoon supporters were nowhere to be seen near the constitutional court.
The court’s unanimous decision to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office cited the need to protect the constitution and the democratic order. The justices ruled that Yoon had mobilised military and police forces against other constitutional institutions and infringed on citizens’ basic rights.
This historic verdict will be remembered as a crucial moment in South Korea’s democratic journey.
Yoon critics rejoice as court says his martial law declaration ‘violated’ constitution
Celebrations have broken out among Yoon Suk Yeol’s detractors in Seoul after the constitutional court voted to uphold his impeachment and strip him from office.
The South Korean court said in its unanimous ruling on Friday that Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December “violated” the country’s constitution.
Yoon “did not merely declare martial law, but went on to commit acts that violated the constitution and the law, including mobilising military and police forces to obstruct the national assembly’s exercise of its authority”, acting chief justice Moon Hyung-bae said court said in delivering the ruling.
He said Yoon violated his duty as president with the martial law declaration, acting beyond the powers given to him under the constitution and describing his actions as “a serious challenge to democracy”.
“[Yoon] committed a grave betrayal of the people’s trust who are the sovereign members of the democratic republic,” he said, adding that Yoon’s declaration created chaos in all areas of society, the economy and foreign policy.
The judge said:
We hereby pronounce the following ruling, with the unanimous agreement of all justices. [We] dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration in December led to armed soldiers being deployed to parliament and triggered the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
– With agencies
The long-awaited court decision on Yoon Suk Yeol’s late-night order to impose martial law in December has exposed deep divisions in South Korean society and alarmed the US and other allies, Justin McCurry says in his full report on the verdict just now.
Yoon’s opponents and supporters have held large rallies in recent days, although an unprecedented police presence meant protesters were unable to access the immediate vicinity of the court building on Friday.
A reported 14,000 police had been deployed in the capital in anticipation of possible violence, irrespective of which way the court ruled.
The full report says the ruling removing Yoon from office after the court voted to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach over his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December means that the acting president, Han Duck-soo, will remain in office until South Koreans elect a new president within 60 days.
See McCurry’s report here:
Pictures are also arriving of Yoon’s detractors reacting with celebrations after the court backed his impeachment.
Images are coming through of pro-Yoon supporters in Seoul reacting in grief to the court’s ruling ousting him from the presidency.
Yoon’s actions went beyond his constitutional powers – court
Justice Moon said in delivering the constitutional court’s verdict that Yoon Suk Yeol took actions beyond the powers provided in South Korea’s constitution.
He said the martial law decree violated people’s basic rights, Reuters reports.
The judge said in the constitutional court’s unanimous ruling to oust Yoon that the impeached president’s actions inflicted serious damage to the democratic republic’s stability.
Yoon’s martial law declaration also interfered with the judiciary’s independence, said Moon, the court’s acting president.
Court upholds Yoon’s impeachment
The constitutional court has ruled to oust impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol.
