Seoul, South Korea
Cnn
–
The highest court in South Korea has obtained the besieged president Yoon Suk Yeol from his duties, ending months of uncertainty and legal disappearance after having briefly declared martial law in December and plunged the nation into political troubles.
Friday, the decision of the court marks the official dismissal of Yoon of the presidency after the Parliament voted to dismiss it in December. His dismissal immediately takes effect and he must now leave the presidential residence.
The long-standing crisis has left a major global economy and the keys to the United States without rudder at a difficult time in global affairs, especially since the “America First” program by US President Donald Trump increases decades of foreign policy and the global trade system.
The eight judges of the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously to maintain the dismissal of Yoon.
Moon Hyung-Bae, the acting main judge of the court, said that the decree of the Martial law of Yoon was unconstitutional because there was no serious national crisis at the time and that his reasons to declare it “cannot be justified”.
The president had violated the official process of declaring the martial law, breaking to the rights of the legislators and violating his obligation as head of the armed forces by forcing the soldiers to face the public, added the judge.
In a separate criminal trial, Yoon was arrested in January for managing an insurrection, then released in March after a court canceled his arrest warrant – although he did not abandon his accusations.
The verdict encountered mixed reactions in the South Korean capital.
Yoon’s opponents exploded to celebrate and jubilation outside the courtyard, waving flags and dancing music. Many were afraid that if he was reinstated, he could once again declare martial law. But the atmosphere was more motionless and dark outside the official residence of Yoon where his conservative supporters had gathered.
The problem was extremely divided, with major crowds that go to the streets both for and against the move of Yoon. Police increased security in the capital before the verdict, creating obstacles and control points and warning against any violence.
It is a remarkable fall of grace for the former prosecutor who became a politician, who has taken on importance for his role in the dismissal and imprisonment of another president years ago – to make the same fate now.
Under South Korean law, a general election to choose a new president must be held within 60 days of Yoon’s dismissal.
A potential candidate for the next president of the country is the head of the opposition Lee Jae-Myung, a former lawyer and legislator who narrowly lost to Yoon during the 2022 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Yoon is still hampered by other legal proceedings, including his insurrection trial. This is one of the few criminal accusations, a president of which has no immunity – and is liable to a perpetuity or death imprisonment, although South Korea has not executed anyone for decades.
The indictment had allegedly alleged that the taxation of martial law by Yoon – during which he had sent troops to parliament, the commanders testifying that they were ordered to “drag” the legislators – was an illegal attempt to close the National Assembly and arrest politicians and electoral authorities.
Yoon said that his decree was justified by the political impasse and the threats of the sympathetic “anti-state forces” to North Korea, and was intended for a temporary warning to the liberal opposition. He said he had always planned to respect the will of the legislators if they vote to remove the decree.
In the end, his decree only lasted six hours. Yoon reversed the declaration after the legislators make their way in Parliament and voted unanimously to block it – starting four months of political disarray, during which the Parliament also voted to dismiss the Prime Minister and the acting president.
Before taking office in 2022, Yoon was a star prosecutor and a key figure in the radical investigation into the last president of South Korea, Park Geun-Hye. Park was removed from office in 2017 and sentenced to prison for corruption and abuse of power in 2018.
Yoon is now the second president to be ousted by the Constitutional Court – and the shortest elected chief in the country’s democratic history.
The Swift of events series marks a spectacular drop for Yoon, which was once presented as a key ally by former American president Joe Biden. During a White House state dinner in 2023, Yoon was heard that the guest Honoré and sang “American Pie” from Don McLean to a delighted audience.
The serenade of Yoon was supposed to present its easy relations with Washington, strengthening the strategic links of Seoul with the United States. His criticisms, however, considered the moment to be a strange distraction of pressing domestic concerns.
Back home, he clashed with fierce with the opposition, which won massively the mid-term elections and used the Parliament to dismiss the key members of the cabinet and have legislation. It was this blockage that Yoon was trying to justify his fateful decree.
This is a story in development and will be updated.
