TIMELINE: South Korea Constitutional Court to decide on Yoon's impeachment imminently

Record ID: 1987330

  • Title: TIMELINE: South Korea Constitutional Court to decide on Yoon's impeachment imminently
  • Date: 4th December 2024
  • Summary: South Korean authorities arrested impeached President Yoon on January 15 over insurrection accusations related to his December 3 martial law declaration, investigators said. Yoon became the first incumbent South Korean president to be arrested when he finally backed down on Wednesday in a weeks-long standoff with authorities investigating him over alleged insurrection. Yoo
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol court detention march martial law opposition parliament protesters troops unrest vigil
  • Location: SEOUL, GWACHEON, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA
  • City: SEOUL, GWACHEON, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
  • Reuters ID: LVA00J459104122024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:South Korea's Constitutional Court will rule on Friday (April 4) whether to remove or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration that sparked a crisis in a country seen as a democratic success story.
    Yoon's fate has been hanging in the balance after the court defied expectations of a swift decision on whether to oust him for violating his constitutional duty or reinstate him, instead deliberating for more than five weeks in tight secrecy.
    The court is scheduled to deliver its ruling at 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) in a nationally televised session.
    Yoon is not expected to attend, but if he is stripped of his presidency, an election must be held within 60 days. If his powers are restored, Yoon faces the challenge of helping Asia's fourth-largest economy navigate the fallout from the stiff tariffs imposed by the United States, its main security ally.
    Yoon was impeached by parliament on December 14 after being accused of violating his constitutional duty by declaring martial law in early December with no justifiable grounds.
    The suspended leader has said he never intended to fully impose military rule but instead meant to sound the alarm over the opposition Democratic Party's abuse of its parliamentary majority that he argued was threatening to destroy the country.
    In his final statement before the court ended arguments, Yoon also said his decision to declare martial law was an appeal to the people to overcome "anti-state forces," pro-North Korea sympathizers, and opposition gridlock.
    (Production: Daniel Lim, Liliana Ciobanu, Vitalii Yalahuzian, Hyunyoung Yi, Keval Singh)
    REUTERS / SOUTH KOREA'S PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE HANDOUT / YONHAP NEWS TELEVISION / VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS / SOUTH KOREA’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT HANDOUT / JTBC / NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TELEVISION / KOREA POOL / SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE / CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF KOREA HANDOUT
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