The court votes 8-0 that the president violated the Constitution.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has unanimously upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree.
Acting court chief Moon Hyung-bae read the court’s 8-0 verdict, saying that Yoon’s declaration of martial law did not meet the legal requirement for a national crisis and that Yoon violated the law by sending troops to South Korea’s parliament, the National Assembly, which has been alleged as an effort to stop a vote to lift his decree.
There are currently eight sitting justices with one seat vacant, and six had to support the National Assembly’s impeachment for it to stand. At least seven justices are required to meet quorum to deliberate.
The court’s quorum after this month is in doubt as the terms of two liberal-leaning justices, Moon and Justice Lee Mison, expire in April. Yoon’s ruling party had been refusing to appoint justices to the court, citing political bias in the candidates nominated by the opposition-led National Assembly without the government’s support.
The April 4 decision affirmed Yoon’s Dec. 14, 2024, impeachment by the opposition-led national assembly, which had accused Yoon of abusing his power and breaching the Constitution in his Dec. 3 martial law decree. It recognized that the charge of insurrection had been removed by the opposition party from the original impeachment motion.
The Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold the Assembly’s impeachment permanently removes Yoon from office, cutting short his first five-year term that would have otherwise ended in May 2027.
The court’s decision triggers a snap election that will be called within 60 days.
Yoon did not attend court for the verdict, which was televised across the nation, with his legal team citing considerations for public order and security.
Despite calls for a swift decision, the court’s 38-day deliberation for its final ruling on the president’s impeachment was the longest on record—more than five weeks. During the impeachments of former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, the court took only 14 days and 11 days, respectively.
By Melanie Sun
