The mood in streets surrounding the National Assembly in downtown Seoul quickly turned somber on Friday. This change came after a very clear ruling from the Constitutional Court regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment. All 11 judges on the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon’s impeachment. This decision has enormous consequences for the country’s political map and might be enough to set off a presidential election in the next 60 days.
In early-mid December, the National Assembly introduced and then impeached Yoon Suk-yeol. His increasingly controversial actions, including declaring a week-long martial law, led to this shocking decision. This decree gave him the authority to use military forces against the National Assembly. He similarly stormed into the National Election Commission and reportedly attempted to arrest other opposition politicians. People told observers that they saw these actions as an attempt to abolish the constitutional government altogether. They felt that the Assembly was being usurped by an alternative power.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling came only after a lengthy four-month legal tussle. Unbelievably, as it turned out, it took the court a historic 38 days to reach its decision. The announcement of the ruling sparked a major police occupation of the Anguk-dong neighborhood. Literally hundreds of police buses filled the streets, creating a large security perimeter around the court. Pro-impeachment demonstrations swelled in the city, attracting hundreds of thousands of protesters on Thursday night, though pro-Yoon supporters seemed much less visible.
Chung Tae-ho, a legal expert, offered his take on the court’s ruling. Most importantly, he stressed, “None of the five reasons are light at all. The measures taken on December 3 could be interpreted as an effort to suspend the constitutional order, freeze all political action, dissolve the National Assembly and replace it with a surrogate force.
Many supporters of Yoon had warned against the ruling. Grace Kim made a case for why she thinks Yoon’s presidency is legal. I remain 100 percent sure that the court, eventually, will rule in favor of reinstating Yoon to office. It’s un-American to condemn impeachment upon someone who has done the very opposite,” she explained. She added that if the court ruled against Yoon, supporters would continue to fight for what they believe is right.
The political analysts asserted that maybe, just maybe, the court was influenced by public opinion during their decision-making process. Lim Hyeon-chang, a PhD law student at Seoul National University, expressed his opinions on the matter. He did express concern that the court appears to be on a hair trigger responding to public sentiment. Lim Woon-taek, another court watcher in the case, raised concern over how long the court took to reach a decision. He noted that this kind of delay might be a sign of one or two NO votes.
The ruling’s timing and its ramifications have raised concerns among many students and activists who have participated in ongoing protests against Yoon’s administration. Lim Woon-taek expressed a sense of fatigue among protesters but offered a glimmer of hope: “It’s already been four months of protesting for many of our students, so we definitely felt tired from all the wait. With the arrival of spring, a new semester is starting up. This should provide us with excitement and anticipation that the social upheaval will soon normalize.
This impeachment ruling not only tosses Yoon out from office, but it starts a 60-day clock for a special presidential election. The political environment still is very tense around this event as different interest groups point their efforts towards their desired outcome.
As South Korea navigates this tumultuous period, the implications of Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment continue to unfold, reflecting deeper societal divisions and political tensions within the country.
