S.Korean court to rule on impeached President Yoon’s fate April 4

If he’s removed from office, the nation will hold a presidential election by June 3 to choose his successor

President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Jan. 23, 2025, over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December (Courtesy of Yonhap)

In-Soo Nam 2

2025-04-01 15:55:43 isnam@hankyung.com

Business & Politics

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday will give its ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December for declaring martial law, to determine whether he will be permanently removed from office or restored to power.

The court said in a statement that it would convene at 11 a.m. Friday to rule on Yoon’s case, which will be broadcast live.

Removing Yoon would require at least six votes out of the court’s current eight justices; otherwise, he will return to office.

If the court removes him, Yoon will become the second president in Korean history to leave office through impeachment, after former President Park Geun-hye in 2017. The country will then hold a new presidential election within 60 days, which is by June 3, to choose a successor.

The ruling comes 111 days after Korea’s Parliament, the National Assembly, impeached Yoon on Dec. 14 – marking the longest impeachment process of a Korean president by the court.

It took 91 days for former President Park to be permanently removed from office after the Parliament’s decision.

YOON SEPARATELY FACES INSURRECTION CHARGES

Yoon has been suspended from office since the National Assembly impeached him in mid-December for declaring emergency martial law on Dec. 3. The declaration, however, lasted just six hours before the Parliament revoked it.

The impeached president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol greets supporters in Seoul in March (Courtesy of Getty Images)

Lawmakers said at the time that Yoon had “betrayed the public trust and abused his constitutional authority to declare martial law, mobilizing government, military and police forces for an armed insurrection.” The impeachment motion accused him of violating the Constitution to such an extent that his removal was justified.

Suspense has been building across Korea as the entire nation waits for the Constitutional Court to rule on Yoon’s fate.

Yoon was detained on Jan. 15 on insurrection charges connected to his imposition of martial law. Tension was heightened after a Seoul court unexpectedly released him from jail on March 8, saying his detention had procedural problems.

Protesters calling for the removel of President Yoon Suk Yeol celebrate news of his impeachment in Seoul on Dec. 14

Despite his release and after the Constitutional Court’s upcoming ruling, he separately faces trials for the criminal charges, which he has been fighting since February.

NATION DIVIDED BY YOON’S SUPPORTERS, OPPOSERS

Analysts said if Yoon is reinstated, Korea’s political crisis is likely to deepen.

His failed attempt to impose martial law angered millions of Koreans, with tens of thousands of people protesting in front of the National Assembly and across the country, calling for a Constitutional Court ruling against him as early as possible.

Protesters cheer outside the National Assembly after the impeachment of President Yoon on Dec. 14, 2024 (Courtesy of Yonhap)

Meanwhile, a Constitutional Court decision to reject his parliamentary impeachment would galvanize Yoon’s supporters, who have also held rallies in Seoul in recent weeks, calling the impeachment and the insurrection charge a “fraud” and demanding his return to office.

The police have beefed up security measures around the Constitutional Court to guard against violence.

Write to In-Soo Nam at isnam@hankyung.com

Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.