South Korea’s Constitutional Court to rule on President Yoon’s impeachment

 South Korea’s Constitutional Court to rule on President Yoon’s impeachment

South Korea’s Constitutional Court will on Friday, April 4 issue its ruling on if to permanently remove impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office.

 

In a statement on Tuesday, April 1,  the court said that it will hand down its ruling on Yoon, who was impeached by legislators after briefly declaring martial law late last year, at 11am (02:00 GMT) and it will be broadcast live.

At least six of the eight justices have to uphold Yoon’s impeachment to remove him from office.

If the court affirms Yoon’s impeachment, then a presidential election will be conducted within 60 days.

Otherwise, Yoon, who has been suspended since mid-December, will be reinstated immediately.

Yoon claimed he issued his short-lived martial law decree to raise alarm about what he claimed was the opposition Democratic Party’s obstructionism and sympathetic stance towards North Korea.

Yoon, who was elected in 2022, lifted martial law within six hours after the National Assembly voted unanimously to overturn the decree.