South Korea’s Constitutional Court will hold another hearing next week before deciding whether President Yoon Suk Yeol should be permanently removed from office for his ill-fated martial law declaration in December.
The next hearing to review whether to uphold the parliament’s decision to impeach Yoon or restore his presidential powers has been set for Tuesday, a court spokesperson said. It was not immediately clear if the next hearing would be the last before a verdict is delivered or if the court would hold a couple more sessions.
If the court decides that the impeachment is valid, Yoon will be immediately removed from office, triggering a presidential election within 60 days. A ruling in favor of Yoon would restore his powers, but the president’s legal travails would still be far from over, as he faces a separate criminal case on charges of insurrection.
YOON WAS impeached and subsequently arrested over his Dec. 3 martial law declaration, the first such order in South Korea in more than 40 years. The move, which was retracted hours later, plunged the country into a constitutional crisis, hurt the economic outlook and sparked public outrage.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is currently serving as acting president after Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who briefly stepped in to replace Yoon, was also impeached by the opposition-controlled parliament.
YOON HAS DENIED any wrongdoing and said his shock martial law decree was meant to draw public attention to what he characterized as abuse of power by the main opposition Democratic Party that controls the parliament. That party’s leader, Lee Jae-myung, is considered one of the strongest candidates for president if a snap election were to be held, although he also faces his own trial deliberations over multiple corruption allegations.
Yoon’s impeachment case is now being reviewed by eight judges. Under South Korea’s constitution, at least six justices must approve Yoon’s removal from office.
The martial law fiasco has left South Korea in limbo at a crucial time as President Donald Trump threatens to impose fresh tariffs on its trading partners.
