In a historic ruling Friday, South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously upheld President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, formally removing him from office in an 8-0 vote over his failed attempt to institute martial law and setting the stage for a snap election within 60 days.
The move, while deepening a divide in South Korea between conservative and progressive voters, could also have broad implications for relations with neighboring Japan.
Yoon "failed in his duty to protect the constitution and seriously betrayed the trust of the Korean people, who are the sovereign members of the democratic republic," acting court President Moon Hyung-bae said after reading off a long list of legal and constitutional violations by Yoon, including subverting the neutrality of the military and the separation of powers.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.