SEOUL, April 1 (UPI) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court said Tuesday that it will rule on whether to uphold President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment Friday, closing a chapter on a months-long saga that has roiled the country and shaken Seoul’s international relationships.
In a statement to reporters, the court said the verdict will be delivered at 11 a.m. local time, with live broadcasts and public attendance permitted.
Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14 by the National Assembly over his shocking and short-lived declaration of martial law.
The Constitutional Court has the final say on whether to formally remove Yoon from office. It heard the final arguments of a lengthy trial on Feb. 25 and a decision was widely expected by mid-March, based on the timelines of two previous impeachment proceedings.
The drawn-out deliberation process has sparked massive rallies on both sides of the issue, with hundreds of thousands of anxious protesters descending on central Seoul each weekend.
“The Constitution has finally responded to the people’s four-month wait,” Cho Seung-rae, chief spokesman of the opposition Democratic Party, told reporters on Tuesday.
“We believe that the Constitutional Court will demonstrate its firm will to protect the constitution and the national system of the Republic of Korea by removing Yoon Suk Yeol, the leader of the insurrection,” Cho said.
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party also said it welcomed the forthcoming decision and called for calm among political rivals.
“I am glad that the speedy sentencing date was announced at a time when public opinion is divided and political turmoil is increasing,” PPP spokesman Park Soo-min said in a statement.
“Both the ruling and opposition parties should stop further political fights and calmly await the verdict,” Park said. “We look forward to the wise judgment of the Constitutional Court that will restore the constitutional order and set the law and principles straight.”
Yoon maintains that he declared martial law on Dec. 3 to protect the public from “pro-North Korea anti-state forces” in the Democratic Party that were obstructing his agenda and paralyzing the government. Lawmakers were able to overturn the martial law decree hours later in a dramatic early-morning vote held as special forces troops dispatched by Yoon stormed the Assembly.
The impeached president has also continued to repeat unsubstantiated claims of election fraud alongside intimations of other nefarious North Korean and Chinese plots. Yoon’s supporters have echoed and amplified the conspiracies on platforms such as YouTube while finding common cause with U.S. President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, with “Stop the Steal” signs a common sight at rallies.
The pro-Yoon demonstrations have at times turned violent. In January, dozens of angry protesters stormed Seoul’s Western District Court after Yoon was formally arrested for his martial law attempt, breaking windows, destroying property and injuring 17 police officers.
South Korean police said Tuesday that they would mobilize 14,000 riot police officers — some 60% of their available force — on the day of the Constitutional Court ruling.
If at least six of the eight sitting justices vote to uphold the impeachment, Yoon will be immediately removed from office and a snap presidential election must be held within 60 days. He would become the second South Korean president to leave office through impeachment, after President Park Geun-hye in 2017.
After Park’s impeachment was confirmed by the court, violent protests erupted, leaving four dead and 63 injured.
Public opinion remains strongly in favor of Yoon’s removal from office. In a survey released Friday by pollster Gallup Korea, 60% percent of respondents said Yoon’s impeachment should be upheld, while 34% said it should be dismissed.
