South Korea’s Constitutional Court has become the site of a fierce political battle as it prepares to rule on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol in early March.
Since January 14, the court has held 10 hearings to determine whether Yoon committed constitutional violations serious enough to warrant his impeachment in early December with a martial law declaration that was later cancelled. More than two-thirds of the National Assembly voted in favor of his impeachment.
The court is expected to approve or reject the impeachment in early March after a final hearing on February 25.
Nikkei Asia compiled the prominent discussions about the process:
What were Yoon’s orders when he sent troops to the National Assembly?
President Yoon sent troops to the National Assembly after declaring martial law on the night of December 3. This action was interpreted as his intention to neutralize the legislature, which has the constitutional right to demand the lifting of martial law.
Lawyers for the National Assembly said Yoon ordered commanders to remove lawmakers from the main hall, preventing them from passing a motion to lift martial law. Yoon’s lawyers argued that this was done to maintain order in the parliament and to protect people from possible accidents.
Kwak Jong-geun, the former commander of the Special Warfare Command who is currently under arrest, admitted that Yoon had called Kwak to order ‘staff’ out of the main hall because a quorum had not yet been reached. The officer said he did not act on that order.
During Tuesday’s hearing, a lawyer for the assembly said: “[The president] used the national armed forces as his personal troops and involved them in a coup.”
Yoon disputed this and said he never used the term ‘personnel’ to describe the people in question. In Korean, the words for lawmakers, staff, and agents sound similar, though they are different.
Kwak said Kim Yong-hyun, then defense minister, told him to remove the lawmakers from the hall. Kim, on the other hand, said he asked the commanders to remove the agents, not the lawmakers, and that the commanders may have misunderstood. The parliament’s lawyer said such an allegation did not make sense because the former defense minister could simply order them to stand down if they were spies.
Did Yoon order the arrest of politicians?
The second issue was whether Yoon ordered the police chief and military commanders to arrest politicians, judges, and journalists who opposed him.
Parliamentary representatives said Yoon had ordered the police chief, a special forces unit commander, and an official of an espionage agency to arrest a dozen people together. They included Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, House Speaker Woo Won-shik, and Han Dong-hoon, then leader of the ruling People Power Party.
Hong Jang-won, a former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service who was in charge when martial law was declared, said Yoon told him in a phone call to ‘catch them all.’ Hong also said he later received a list from the defense counterintelligence command. Yoon and his lawyers denied the allegation, arguing that it was meaningless because the spy agency had no arrest powers. The lawyers also questioned the authenticity of the memo containing the list. However, the court accepted the note as evidence.
Why did Yoon send soldiers to the election commission?
Yoon argued that he ordered Kim, a former defense minister, to send troops to the National Election Commission’s office building in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, to check the agency’s electronic system because he had a report prepared by the spy agency in 2023 that said it was problematic.
Assembly representatives said Yoon sent troops to take over the commission’s servers because he believed a rumor that the 2024 general election was rigged.
Yoon’s lawyers also alleged Chinese meddling in South Korean elections, citing some media reports but providing no evidence.
Did martial law harm the country and the people?
Kim Yi-su, a senior lawyer for the assembly, said the president’s reckless behavior has deeply hurt the country.
“The collapsing economy is facing a bigger crisis. Political polarization is deepening. And it has left a shameful trauma on the entire military. People want healing and restoration,” he said.
Yoon and his lawyers, on the other hand, claimed it was a ‘peaceful martial law’ and intended only as a temporary warning to the public against ‘massive’ pressure from the opposition Democratic Party. At a hearing earlier this month, the ousted president argued four times that ‘nothing happened’ and that martial law was lifted without harming anyone.
What will happen next?
Both sides will present their final arguments to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, February 25. The court will then decide whether to uphold the dismissal.
As stipulated by the constitution, the decision requires the approval of six of the eight judges, as one seat on the nine-member court is vacant. If the court upholds the impeachment, Yoon, who is currently suspended, will be immediately removed from office, and a presidential election will be held within 60 days.
If the court rejects the case, Yoon will be reinstated.