Almost four months after the National Assembly pass A bill calling for the dismissal of the South Korean president Yoon Suk-Yeol for its failed attempt to control the country through martial lawThe Constitutional Court confirmed the dismissal of Yoon unanimously on April 4. With the decision, Yoon was permanently removed from his functions and is the second South Korean president to be dismissed by the Constitutional Court. Yoon also has a dubious distinction of being the first president in office to be accused of betrayal in the history of South Korea.
At 11:00 am local time, Moon Hyung-Bae, the acting chief of the Constitutional Court, read the decision of the eight judges on the case of the indictment of Yoon. In 22 minutes, Moon developed one by one the problems raised by the National Assembly and Yoon.
According to the verdict pronounced by Moon, the declaration of martial law of Yoon was illegal because there were faults at the meeting of the cabinet which he called to justify the declaration. The judges did not accept the affirmations of the lawyers of Yoon according to which the country was in an emergency situation due to the repetition of the Democratic Party of the Opposition (DP) of the members of the Cabinet of Yoon, affirming that an emergency, whose gravity can be considered as a kind of state of war, not happening “realistically”. The court’s decision described Yoon’s martial law declaration as based on his subjective vision of the political deadlock with the DP – which is illegitimate under the Constitution.
The court also said that Yoon’s order to deploy troops in the National Assembly and Stop Politicians and former judges were illegal. Yoon had denied allegations according to which he had ordered the troops of martial law to arrest political figures, mainly opposition legislators and prevent the immediate movements of the National Assembly to elevator martial law. However, the court accepted the allegations of commanders and military officers involved in the operations of the National Assembly. They testified that they had been directly ordered by their superiors and Yoon to drag the legislators who were gathered in the plenary chamber to vote for the lifting of martial law. In addition, while the public watched the scenes of the troops of the martial law and the special military forces breaking the windows to enter the building of the National Assembly on television and on the spot, the claim of Yoon according to which the mobilization of the troops in the Parliament was to maintain order was deemed not complicated.
Yoon’s defense lawyers have repeatedly said there had been procedural faults in the accusation in order to persuade the judges to reject the case. However, none of their arguments were accepted by the judges.
The seizure and search of the national electoral commission by troops of the martial law without mandate were also deemed illegal, even if Yoon said that it was a question of verifying the computer systems. The decree of martial law restricting political activities was also illegitimate because it has considerably violated the fundamental rights of Korean citizens.
Consequently, each decision made by Yoon on December 3 was illegal and was serious enough for him to be charged, according to Moon and the Court.
The reaction of Yoon and the People Power Party (PPP)
According to local media, Yoon encouraged his party leadership – gathered in his presidential residence for reading the verdict – to unite to win the next presidential election of the SNAP.
He apologized that he had not met public standards, according to reports, despite the fact that he has constantly attempted for months to avoid political and legal responsibilities resulting from his attempted martial law.
Political analysts wonder if the PPP should present a presidential candidate, because the two presidents welcomed in the history of South Korea come from the Conservative Party.
Kwon Young-Se, the president of the Emergency Committee of the Power Power party, said that his party modestly accepted the verdict while apologizing to the public that he had failed to play the role of a ruling party. However, Kwon Seon-Dong, the PPP chief of floor, said that his party should win the upcoming elections, apparently taking no responsibility for his efforts to hinder Yoon’s indictment and put pressure on the Constitutional Court to reject his indictment in recent months.
Lee Jae-Myung, the leader of the principal Democratic Party of the opposition which appears as the Very probably successor to yoon In the next Snap presidential election, his respect and appreciation to the public who defended the country’s democratic system expressed his respect and appreciation. Lee also described the court’s verdict on Yoon a national tragedy since the country dismissed two presidents in eight years.
The opposition welcomed the court’s decision on Yoon, claiming that it was a widely awaited decision given the actions of Yoon. However, Yoon lawyers have called the political decision, and some fear that pro-Yoon supporters can move as they did when the district court of Seoul issuing An arrest warrant against Yoon on January 19.
Given the calendar of previous presidential dismissal cases in 2004 and 2017, the Constitutional Court was expected To make your verdict around March 14. However, as he delayed The verdict, PPP legislators have raised the possibility that Yoon returns to the office. The decision of the court of March 24 of dismiss THE indictment of Prime Minister Han Duck -Soo – who was indictment By the National Assembly controlled by the opposition for its refusal to approve the appointments of three judges for the Constitutional Court – aroused the hopes of the PPP for a similar rejection in the Yoon case. In addition, while Yoon was released from prison in early March due to the acceptance by the allegations of his defense lawyers according to which there was a violation of the procedure on his detention, the Professional legislators within the PPP showed that the Constitutional Court would reject his dismissal case.
Among the eight judges currently before the Constitutional Court, three judges are deemed to be conservatives, generate hopes among pro-Yoon supporters and the PPP that they would reject the indictment and would help Yoon to return. However, this did not happen.
The judges would have delayed their verdict in order to reach a consensus in the light of the deep polarization in South Korea which came at the head of the declaration of illegal martial law of Yoon.
What comes next?
Yoon cannot appeal the verdict of the Constitutional Court. He is no longer president of South Korea. He faces accusations of betrayal, but more accusations could take place against him because many allegations have been made against him and his wife in the past three years. The presidency protected him from prosecution for crimes other than betrayal; He no longer has protection.
According to the Constitution, South Korea must organize a Snap presidential election within 60 days.
The instant election will probably be detained On June 3, although the date has not yet been officially announced. The special presidential election in 2017 took place on May 9; The Constitutional Court confirmed the dismissal of Park Geun-Hye on March 10.
Lee, the DP chief who was the candidate against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, will probably be the next president of the country.
There is no competitor against Lee in the DP today. Lee’s defeat against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election was not margin of 0.7%. There are also current trials against Lee, but they may not have an impact on his viability as a candidate. Lee supporters consider the prosecution against him, who occurred after his defeat in 2022, as politically motivated. Yoon was a prosecutor and prosecutor general of career before running for the presidency in 2022. In this context, the public saw Yoon as having the solid support of prosecutors, to the punishment of his enemies.
There are some potential presidential candidates, including Kim Moon-Soo, the Minister of Employment and Labor, within the PPP, but given the circumstances, their chances of success are slim. Kim is a favorite among the candidates for the presidential election of the PPP, but he is considered as an extreme right extremist of the opposition, which means that his appointment as a candidate of the PPP will make the presidential election special even more favorable for Lee to win.
The acting president, Han Duck-SOO, said that he would faithfully honor the public’s will and do his best to manage the presidential election while reiterating the policy of the government “without tolerance” on those who commit violence following the decision. However, as pro-Yoon supporters and extreme extremists have already indicated that they would not follow the verdict, polarization and the division of the country will probably be aggravated even, or above all, if Lee wins the next elections.