South Korea constitutional court confirms impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol News
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South Korea constitutional court confirms impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol

The Constitutional Court of Korea unanimously ruled to confirm the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol via oral decision Thursday. Under Article 68 of the Korean Constitution, a new election for a Korean president must commence within 60 days.

This ruling confirms the impeachment motion which triggered the review, and Yoon is dismissed from office effective immediately. Written decisions are expected to follow.

In response, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the major opposition Democratic Party, welcomed the ruling, claiming that the successful impeachment has protected the country’s democracy. On the other hand, Kwon Young-se, spokesperson of the ruling People Power Party, said the party respected the ruling and apologized to supporters for the party’s failure to prevent the Democratic Party from controlling the legislature as the majority. Both statements call for national unity to restore the peace and stability of the country triggered by president Yoon’s declaration of martial law.

It has been 120 days since Yoon declared martial law on December 4. Yoon’s declaration was swiftly struck down hours later by parliamentarians who gathered in an extraordinary parliamentary session to oppose the move. Politicians, such as opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung, live-streamed himself jumping a fence to enter the parliamentary building to vote down martial law.

Less than two weeks after the declaration, the parliament passed a motion to impeach Yoon, suspending him from his capacity as head of state and triggering a review of the motion by the Constitutional Court of South Korea. Article 65 of the Constitution of South Korea provides that an impeachment motion must be adjudicated by the Constitutional Court of Korea within 180 days. This final adjudication was required to confirm, delay or deny the impeachment motion.

The constitutional court began its review of the impeachment on December 16th. The review took a total of 111 days. Prior impeachment adjudications have taken 63 days for Roh Moo-Hyun (not impeached), and 92 days for Park Geun-Hye (impeached), two prior South Korean presidents who were the subjects of impeachment motions.

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