South Korea’s Constitutional Court has formally upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol following an aborted attempt to declare martial law late last year.
It is a move that will trigger a new round of elections and deepen the political divide in one the region’s more vibrant democracies. South Korea must hold an election within two months.
After deliberating since January, the court issued its unanimous ruling Friday in a nationally broadcast event that saw many ordinary Koreans pause to hear the judgment on Yoon’s political fate.
The justices said Yoon violated the basic rights of the people by declaring martial law.
“You’re witnessing the miracle of democracy in Korea with the ruling of the constitutional court,” Siheung Mayor Lim Byung-taek told a gathering of journalists visiting the west coast city as part of the World Journalists Conference.
Yoon, a staunch conservative, was impeached in December by the country’s National Assembly, which is controlled by the liberal opposition.
He ordered the deployment of hundreds of troops and police officers to the assembly after declaring martial law on Dec. 3.
Yoon said the decision was intended to maintain order, but subsequently some military and civilian officials testified the president had ordered them to drag out lawmakers to frustrate a floor vote on his decree and detain his political opponents.
South Korean investigators left the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after a near-six-hour standoff on Friday during which he defied their attempt to detain him. Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at the China & Northeast Asia, Eurasia Group, says he is ‘deeply concerned’ about the state of democracy in South Korea.
In his defence, Yoon claimed that he didn’t intend to keep the country under martial law for very long, and he only wanted to highlight what he called the “wickedness” of the Democratic Party, which obstructed his agenda.
The brazen act triggered a huge political crisis and massive street protests involving millions of people. The demonstrations, many of which carried on in a smaller form up to the ruling, involved both his opponents and supporters.
On Friday, police mobilized an overwhelming presence to prevent clashes and possible acts of vandalism, arson and assault.
There were both pro- and anti-impeachment demonstrations on the streets of Seoul following the ruling, but no violence was reported.
Removing Yoon from office required support from at least six of the court’s eight justices. In the end, it was a unanimous ruling.
The Journalists Association of Korea, in a statement, welcomed the constitutional court’s impeachment decision.
“Yoon Seok-yeol’s declaration of 12·3 illegal martial law was an anti-democratic and anti-social violence that violated the Constitution,” said the organization which represents the country’s journalists.
“This sentence should be the starting point for stopping extreme political conflicts and preventing the division of national affairs.”
Yoon promoted closer relations with western nations, including Canada.
Almost two years ago, Canada and South Korea signed a strategic partnership that inaugurated high-level dialogue over a number of issues, including defence and security.
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