SEOUL, April 4 (UPI) -- South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday upheld the parliamentary impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration, delivering an 8-0 unanimous verdict and prompting his immediate removal from office.
In a session broadcast live on television, acting President of the Constitutional Court Moon Hyung-bae announced the decision, saying that Yoon did not meet the legal requirements of a national emergency needed to declare martial law.
The court found that Yoon's actions were serious enough to warrant his removal from office, Moon said, as he committed a "grave infringement of citizens' rights."
The decision closed a chapter on a months-long saga that has roiled the country and shaken Seoul's international standing, although concerns remain about whether it will further divide a deeply polarized country.
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A new presidential election must now be held within 60 days, with acting President Han Duck-soo remaining in power in the meantime. Yoon, who did not attend court for the reading of the verdict, becomes the second South Korean president to leave office through impeachment, after President Park Geun-hye in 2017.
"I am so sorry and regretful that I could not meet your expectations," Yoon said in a statement sent to reporters by his legal team after the verdict. "I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you who have supported and cheered for me despite my many shortcomings."
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, expressed gratitude to the public, saying the people "reclaimed the great democratic republic of South Korea."
"The second impeachment of a sitting president is a tragedy in our constitutional history that should never happen again," Lee said in a statement at the National Assembly. "All politicians, including myself, must deeply reflect and feel a sense of responsibility."
Lee, who lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential race by a razor-thin margin, is considered the frontrunner for his party's nomination in the upcoming election.
"If we join forces, we can quickly restore the trust of the international community and turn this crisis into an opportunity," Lee said.
Yoon, a 64-year-old former prosecutor, was impeached on Dec. 14 by the National Assembly over his shocking and short-lived declaration of martial law earlier in the month.
The Constitutional Court had the final say on whether to formally remove Yoon from office and a lengthy trial was concluded on Feb. 25. A decision was widely expected by mid-March, based on the timelines of two previous impeachment proceedings.
Instead, the drawn-out deliberation process sparked massive rallies on both sides of the issue, with hundreds of thousands of anxious protesters descending on central Seoul each weekend.
Police were at their highest alert level in the hours leading up to the decision Friday, completely closing off a 500-foot radius around the courthouse in what acting police chief Lee Ho-young described as a "vacuum state."
Buses and large portable fences were erected as barriers on streets surrounding the downtown courthouse and some 14,000 officers were deployed in Seoul. Schools and kindergartens within a radius of roughly half a mile of the court were closed on Friday, along with nearby national museums and popular tourist attractions.
Thousands of people calling for Yoon's impeachment watched the verdict come in on a large screen set up outside the police perimeter. When the decision was announced, the crowd erupted in cheers, with some crying in relief.
"I couldn't sleep last night, and even now my heart is still pounding, but I feel so good," rally-goer Koo Min-i told UPI. "I'm so honored to be here at this site where democracy is being regained."
Most gatherings quickly dispersed after the verdict, with some dispirited Yoon supporters remaining on the streets near the former president's residence in the afternoon.
The leader of the ruling People Power Party, Kwon Young-se, expressed disappointment with the court's ruling but called for the public to remain calm.
"It is unfortunate, but the People Power Party takes the decision of the Constitutional Court seriously and humbly accepts it," Kwon said at a press conference.
"There should be no violence or extreme actions under any circumstances, he said. "We must stop the division and conflict and move towards healing and community restoration."
Yoon claimed that he declared martial law on Dec. 3 to protect the public from "pro-North Korea anti-state forces" in the Democratic Party that were obstructing his agenda and paralyzing the government. Lawmakers were able to overturn the martial law decree hours later in a dramatic early-morning vote held as special forces troops dispatched by Yoon stormed the Assembly.
The stunning attempt to impose martial law "posed a grave threat to human rights and the rule of law," Human Rights Watch senior researcher Lina Yoon said in an emailed statement Friday.
"The Constitutional Court's ruling was a decisive step to uphold human rights protections and democratic values," she said.
The presidential leadership vacuum ahead of the election comes amid daunting international challenges for the country, analysts noted.
"Today's ruling means South Korea remains without an elected president for another two months just as U.S. President [Donald] Trump hits the country with 25% tariffs and teases resuming direct diplomacy with North Korea's Kim Jong Un," Sean King, senior vice president and East Asia expert at New York-based consulting firm Park Strategies, told UPI. "South Korea's effectively leaderless at a critical time."
While political factions remain sharply divided, public opinion has been in favor of Yoon's removal from office. In a survey released on Friday ahead of the verdict by pollster Gallup Korea, 57% percent of respondents said Yoon's impeachment should be upheld, while 37% said it should be dismissed.
Yoon is still facing a separate criminal trial on insurrection charges, which is slated to begin on April 14. He was being held in a detention center near Seoul, but was released in March.
