South Korea's impeached President Yoon faces court

4/4/2025 5:50

South Korea's Constitutional

Court will rule on Friday whether to remove or reinstate

impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial

law declaration that sparked a crisis in a country seen as a

democratic success story.



Yoon's fate has been hanging in the balance after the court

defied expectations of a swift decision on whether to oust him

for violating his constitutional duty or reinstate him, instead

deliberating for more than five weeks in tight secrecy.



The court is scheduled to deliver its ruling at 11 a.m.

(0200 GMT) in a nationally televised session.



Yoon is not expected to attend, but if he is stripped of his

presidency, an election must be held within 60 days. If his

powers are restored, Yoon faces the challenge of helping Asia's

fourth-largest economy navigate the fallout from the stiff

tariffs imposed by the United States, its main security ally.



The ruling will cap months of political turmoil that have

overshadowed efforts to deal with the new administration of U.S.

President Donald Trump at a time of slowing growth.



Separately, 64-year-old Yoon faces a criminal trial on

insurrection charges. The embattled leader became the first

sitting South Korean president to be arrested on January 15 but

was released in March after a court cancelled his arrest warrant

citing questions over the procedural legitimacy of the

investigation.



The crisis was triggered by his December 3 declaration of

martial law, which he has said was needed to root out

"anti-state" elements and the opposition Democratic Party's

alleged abuse of its parliamentary majority that he said was

destroying the country.



He lifted the decree six hours later after lawmakers defied

efforts by the security forces to seal off parliament and voted

to reject it. Yoon has said he never intended to fully impose

emergency military rule and tried to downplay the fallout saying

nobody was hurt.



South Korean parliamentary lawyers seeking Yoon's removal

compared him to a dictator during the trial at the

Constitutional Court, which currently has eight judges with one

seat vacant. Under the Constitution, at least six of them must

agree for Yoon to be removed.



The wait of more than a month for the decision has

exacerbated tensions between the ruling party, with many of its

members calling for Yoon's reinstatement, and the opposition,

which has said his return would deal a serious blow to the

country's constitutional order.



It has also deepened division among the public, with large

crowds packing Seoul streets in rallies for and against Yoon's

removal, and increasingly heated rhetoric.



Police are bracing for potential violence and plan to

mobilise more than 14,000 officers in the capital.



The deep divisions suggest Friday's ruling will do little to

ease the tension, analysts have said.



Experts also question whether Yoon, who has been badly

bruised by personal scandals and political feuds, would be

effective in the remaining two years of his term even if his

powers were restored.



The majority of the public backs Yoon's removal, according

to opinion polls, although support has ebbed since the initial

days after the martial law declaration.



A Gallup Korea poll released last week showed 60% of the

respondents saying Yoon should be ousted.