Following months of political unrest, South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously decided on Friday to remove impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office due to his botched declaration of martial law, setting the stage for new elections.
Lawmakers suspended Yoon, 64, for his attempt to overthrow civilian government on December 3, which involved sending armed soldiers to parliament. In a different criminal case, he was also taken into custody on insurrection-related allegations.
KakaoTalk, the nation’s primary messaging service, told AFP that some users were suffering problems because of an unexpected spike in traffic as millions of Koreans watched the Constitutional Court’s decision live on television.
In announcing the decision, acting court president Moon Hyung-bae stated, “Given the grave harm and extensive ramifications of the respondent’s constitutional violations… (We) dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol.”
Fresh presidential elections must be held within 60 days of Yoon’s ouster, which takes effect immediately. In the next few days, authorities will declare a date.
The judges unanimously upheld Yoon’s impeachment and were given further security protection by the police, but outside the court, AFP reporters heard Yoon supporters yelling threats that they wanted to kill the judges.
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