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The Constitutional Court of South Korea has ousted Yoon Suk Yeol as president, confirming the dismissal by the parliament of the old prosecutor of the hard line.
Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law last year led to its suspension of its functions and sparked political problems in the fourth Asian economy.
The resulting leadership vacuum cleaner has paralyzed the government as it must fight against a slowed economy, aggressive American trade policies and an increasing nuclear threat from North Korea.
What has the court decided?
The judges unanimously supported the point of view of the legislators according to which Yoon exceeded his powers with his declaration of shock from the martial law in December.
The constitution of South Korea allows the president to declare martial law “when it is required to face a military necessity or to maintain public security and order by mobilization of military forces in wartime, armed conflict or similar national emergency”.
But the National Assembly controlled by the opposition argued in its request in December in December that the country had not experienced an emergency of gravity required to justify a martial legal decree, a position now approved by the Constitutional Court.
The request also accused Yoon of procedural violations, in particular its deployment of soldiers to storm the National Assembly in an apparent offer to prevent legislators from voting to reject martial law.
In his final defense before the Constitutional Court in February, Yoon argued that his decree was necessary to “alert the public” of the “wickedness” of the left opposition and what he described as “external forces, including North Korea, as well as anti-state elements within our society”.
But Friday, the court ruled by a margin of 8-0 that Yoon had “abandoned his duty to maintain the constitution and seriously betrayed the confidence of the Korean people”.
What happens to Yoon?
Following his dismissal in December, Yoon was suspended from the exercise of his constitutional functions but remained president and head of state of the country.
Friday’s decision withdrew him from his functions with immediate effect, which makes him an ordinary private citizen. The limit of a term of South Korea for presidents means that he cannot request a re -election. Yoon also faces accusations of criminal insurrection relating to his attempt to impose martial law, which he denies.
A verdict in his criminal trial, which is expected to start on April 14, is expected later this year or at the beginning of 2026. If he is condemned, Yoon could in theory face a perpetuity or even the death penalty, although South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997.
Who will replace Yoon?
According to the South Korean Constitution, a presidential election aimed at choosing the successor to Yoon must take place within 60 days.
Lee Jae-Myung, a work worker from the combative factory who heads the leftist opposition Democratic Party, is ahead in the polls. He was defeated by Yoon by less than a percentage point during the presidential election of 2022.
The candidates of the Power of Power of the Conservative People of Yoon understand the Minister of Labor Kim Moon-Soo, the mayor of Seoul Oh Se-Hoon, the mayor of Daegu Hong Joon-Pyo and the former leader Han Dong-Hoon.
While the Lee of the Democratic Party is widely considered the favorite, it also faces legal challenges. The prosecutors attract a recent Verdict from the High Court erased him from making false declarations during an electoral campaign.
He should also be tried this month on the charges relating to the pipelines to North Korea.
The convictions in both cases could prohibit Lee from the public service, although it is not clear what would happen if it is elected president before the conclusion of the trials. He denies all the reprehensible acts.
Who is in charge for the moment?
Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo, one appointed by Yoon and a long-standing technocrat, will continue as acting president until the elections.
Han, who took the post of acting president immediately after the dismissal of Yoon, was himself suspended for several months from the end of December after the opposition parties voted to charge him to provide for three vacant places on the Constitutional Court of nine members.
The role of the acting president then came across Choi Sang-Mok, the country’s finance minister, who filled two of the three vacant places in the Constitutional Court.
Last month, the court canceled the dismissal of Han, the restaurant as an acting Prime Minister and President.
Will this end the political crisis in South Korea?
Friday’s decision brings South Korea closer to the fight against its vacuum cleaner, but the tensions raised by the Declaration of the Martial Act of Yoon is probably not dissipated soon.
Supporters and opponents of the dismissal of Yoon organized regular demonstrations across the country. Certain pro-Yoon demonstrations were marked by violence, the conservatives of the hard line taking place a Seoul courthouse after being detained for criminal charges in January.
Increasingly wild conspiracy theories have circulated among the loyalists of Yoon, whose foundation -based statement widely shared on social networks according to which Chinese nationals had been falsification of the electoral systems of South Korea and thereafter expelled by an American military base.
The Lee of the Democratic Party is also a deeply polarizing figure. He made the hunger strike in 2023 to protest against what he described as the “prosecutor dictatorship” by Yoon.
Last year, Lee was stabbed in the neck by a member of the public, and in recent weeks, he has made several public appearances with a bulletproof vest.
Han, the acting president and the Popular Party of power have already promised to accept the decision of the Constitutional Court. Some analysts have said that anger among the conservatives could prove to be limited while attention quickly turns to who will emerge as the new Norma holder of the right.
