South Korea court ousts impeached president Yoon

AFP | Seoul

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South Korea’s top court yesterday unanimously ruled to remove impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his disastrous martial law declaration, triggering fresh elections after months of political turmoil.

Yoon, 64, was suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He was also arrested on insurrection charges as part of a separate criminal case. Millions of Koreans watched the Constitutional Court hand down its verdict live on television, with the country’s main messaging app KakaoTalk telling AFP that some users were experiencing delays due to a sudden surge in traffic.

“Given the serious negative impact and far-reaching consequences of the respondent’s constitutional violations... (We) dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol,” acting court President Moon Hyungbae said while delivering the ruling. Yoon’s removal, which is effective immediately, triggers fresh presidential elections, which must be held within 60 days.

Authorities will announce a date in the coming days. Outside the court, Yoon supporters shouting threats that they wanted to kill the judges, who decided unanimously to uphold Yoon’s impeachment, and have been given additional security protection by police.

Yoon’s actions “violate the core principles of the rule of law and democratic governance”, the judges said in their ruling. Yoon sending armed soldiers to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree “violated the political neutrality of the armed forces”.