SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his stunning declaration of martial law in a case that ignited the worst political crisis in decades and rattled markets.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
South Korea will have to hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days. Until then, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will remain as acting president.
The new president will take office as soon as the National Election Commission declares the results.
After South Korea’s last impeachment and removal, in 2017, a presidential election was held on May 9 following the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove then-President Park Geun-hye on March 9.
Park’s successor was inaugurated the day after that vote.
Polls show opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, is maintaining his lead for the snap election, leaving no major challengers.
A populist outsider and former governor of the most populous province in South Korea, Lee has however been beset by his own legal troubles and scandals that could bar him from an election run. He faces trials in cases from bribery to charges related to a property development scandal.
WHAT WILL BE THE NEW LEADER’s PRIORITIES?
Whoever wins the election, the priority will be to bring stability to domestic politics and take on the daunting task of dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump has been pressuring allies with tariffs and demanding that South Korea pay more for American troops stationed there.
Tension on the Korean peninsula is also running high. Yoon took a hard line against North Korea, amid Pyongyang’s advances in military and space capabilities and warming ties with Russia.
South Korea suspended a military pact with the North meant to reduce military tension by curbing live-fire exercises along the border. The North’s constitution has designated South Korea as the principal enemy.
WHAT NEXT FOR YOON?
In separate criminal proceedings, Yoon was indicted in January on charges of insurrection, punishable by life imprisonment or even death, although South Korea has not executed anyone in decades.
A defiant Yoon has denied he masterminded an insurrection.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, used to put people in jail. But, he became the first incumbent South Korean leader to be arrested in January, after initially defying efforts to question him in the criminal case.
He has now been freed from detention after a court quashed his arrest warrant while he stands trial.
WILL HIS REMOVAL END THE CRISIS?
Yoon’s removal from office was the culmination of months of turmoil in which hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets, week after week, either to protest or support him.
The upheaval has further exposed deep social rifts between conservatives and liberals and stepped up pressure on institutions and the military, which had found itself in a quandary over whether to enforce martial law.
Political dysfunction marked the run-up to Yoon’s martial law declaration, with the opposition-led parliament blocking much of his agenda and impeaching a string of officials.
It remains unclear whether Yoon’s fired-up supporters will now accept the court’s ruling or continue their street protests.
(This story has been corrected to change the name of acting president to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, not Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Ed Davies, Clarence Fernandez and Lincoln Feast.)
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