South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted by the Constitutional Court on Friday, which upheld parliament’s impeachment motion over his imposition of martial law last year that sparked the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The ruling caps months of political turmoil that have overshadowed efforts to deal with the new administration of US President Donald Trump at a time of slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
With Yoon’s ouster, a presidential election is required to take place within 60 days, according to the country’s constitution.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will continue to serve as acting president until the new president is inaugurated.
“The Constitutional Court’s unanimous ruling has removed a major source of uncertainty,” Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul. “And not a moment too soon, given how the next administration in Seoul must navigate North Korea’s military threats, China’s diplomatic pressure, and Trump’s trade tariffs.”
Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae said Yoon violated his duty as president with his December 3 martial law declaration, acting beyond the powers given to him under the constitution and describing his actions as “a serious challenge to democracy”.
“(Yoon) committed a grave betrayal of the people’s trust who are the sovereign members of the democratic republic,” Moon said, adding that Yoon’s declaration of martial law created chaos in all areas of society, the economy, and foreign policy.
Thousands of people at a rally calling for Yoon’s ouster, including hundreds who had camped out overnight, erupted into wild cheers on hearing the ruling, chanting, “We won!”
Supporters of Yoo,n who were gathered near his official residence reacted in anger. One protester was arrested for smashing a police bus window, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The South Korean won was largely unfazed by Friday’s ruling, remaining at about 1% higher vs dollar at 1,436.6 per dollar by 0249 GMT. The benchmark KOSPI was down 0.7%, also unchanged from the morning as the expected scenario was for the court to uphold the impeachment bill.
