South Korea's Yoon removed from office over martial law, election looms

Seoul: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted on Friday by the Constitutional Court, ushering in an election after it upheld parliament's impeachment over his imposition of martial law that sparked the nation's worst political crisis in decades.

The unanimous ruling caps months of political turmoil that have overshadowed efforts to deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump at a time of slowing growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The decision now sets in motion a race to elect the next president within 60 days as required by the constitution. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will stay on as acting president until a new leader is sworn in.

Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the liberal Democratic Party who had lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner but faces legal challenges of his own under multiple trials for corruption.

The conservatives have a wide-open field of candidates.

"The Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling has removed a major source of uncertainty," said Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul, noting how the next government would have to navigate challenges including 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 his constitutional powers with actions that were "a serious challenge to democracy".

"(Yoon) committed a grave betrayal of the people's trust," Moon said, adding that the declaration of martial law created chaos in all areas of society, the economy and foreign policy.

Human Rights Watch called the ruling a win for the country's resilience, quest for human rights and democratic values.

Thousands of people at a rally calling for Yoon's ouster erupted into wild cheers on hearing the ruling, chanting "We won!"

"This took a long time but it's fortunate that it is a sensible outcome," Kim Han-sol, a 23-year-old student, said at a rally outside the court.

Supporters of Yoon gathered near his official residence watched the ruling on a big screen in stunned silence. Some reacted in anger, with one protester arrested for smashing a police bus window, Yonhap news agency reported. Others held their heads in their hands and wept. Most rallies remained peaceful.

The South Korean won gained as much as 1.6 per cent to a five-week high, while the KOSPI stock index closed down 0.9 per cent after briefly turning positive around the ruling.

Yoon portraits removed

In a message released through his lawyers, Yoon apologised to South Koreans.

"I am so sorry and regretful that I wasn't able to live up to your expectations."

Earlier, Yoon's lawyers had slammed the court's ruling.

"This can only be seen as a political decision," Yoon Kab-keun told reporters.

The court rejected most of Yoon's argument that he declared martial law to sound the alarm over the main opposition party's abuse of its parliamentary majority, saying there were legal avenues to address disagreements.

Mobilising the military against parliament to disrupt its functions was a grave violation of Yoon's constitutional duty to safeguard the independence of the three branches of government, Moon said.

The presidential flag that flew alongside the national flag at the presidential office was lowered on Friday after the ruling. At military bases and command centres around the country, portraits of Yoon will be taken down to be shredded or burned, according to law.

Kwon Young-se, interim leader of Yoon's ruling People Power Party, pledged to work with the acting president to stabilise the country. Acting President Han, speaking after the ruling, said he would do all he could to ensure an orderly election.

South Korea's election commission said presidential hopefuls could register to run from Friday, while after talks with acting President Han, June 3 was being considered for the election date.

Shoring up growth and formulating a response to a 25 per cent US tariff on South Korean imports are urgent priorities for the government.

The finance ministry has proposed a 10 trillion won ($7 billion) supplementary budget but needs to reach a compromise with the opposition Democratic Party, whose leader Lee is targeting 30 trillion won.

The 64-year-old Yoon still faces a criminal trial on insurrection charges related to the martial law proclamation, which carry a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment.

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. Oral arguments in the case start on April 14.

The crisis was triggered by Yoon's surprise late-night declaration that martial law was needed in part to root out "anti-state" elements.

Yoon lifted the decree six hours later after parliamentary staffers used barricades and fire extinguishers to ward off special operations soldiers who arrived by helicopter and broke windows as they sought to enter parliament, where lawmakers voted to reject martial law.

($1 = 1,434.8500 won)

"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, 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 Yoon 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 per cent higher vs dollar at 1,436.6 per dollar by 0249 GMT. The benchmark KOSPI was down 0.7 per cent, also unchanged from the morning as the expected scenario was for the court to uphold the impeachment bill.

Arguments Rejected

The court rejected most of Yoon's argument that he declared martial law to sound the alarm over the main opposition party's abuse of its parliamentary majority, saying there were legally justified avenues to address disagreements.

The martial law decree lacked justification and was also procedurally defective, Moon said. Mobilising the military against parliament to disrupt its functions was a grave violation of Yoon's constitutional duty to safeguard the independence of the three branches of government, he added.

Yoon's ruling People Power Party's interim leader Kwon Young-se apologised to the people saying the party humbly accepted the court's ruling and pledged to work with the acting president to stabilise the country.

Acting President Han Duck-soo, speaking after the ruling, said he would do all he could to ensure an orderly and peaceful presidential election.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is expected to convene an emergency meeting with the Bank of Korea governor and financial regulators.

The 64-year-old Yoon faces a criminal trial on insurrection charges related to the martial law declaration. 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.

The crisis was triggered by Yoon's 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.

Yoon lifted the decree six hours later after parliamentary staffers used barricades and fire extinguishers to ward off special operations soldiers who arrived by helicopter and broke windows as they sought to enter parliament, where lawmakers voted to reject martial law. Yoon has said he never intended to fully impose emergency military rule and tried to downplay the fallout, saying nobody was hurt.