Closing summary
We’re wrapping up this live coverage of the momentous ruling ousting Yoon Suk Yeol from the South Korean presidency. You can read our full report here. And below is an overview of today’s events. Thanks for reading.
Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted as president by the constitutional court on Friday, which upheld the South Korean parliament’s impeachment motion over his imposition of martial law last December that sparked the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruling – capping months of political turmoil – 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. There were legally justified avenues to address disagreements, it said.
The martial law decree lacked justification and was also procedurally defective, said the court’s acting chief justice, Moon Hyung-bae. He 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.
Celebrations broke out among demonstrators rallying for Yoon’s ouster in Seoul, while Yoon supporters reacted with dismay and tears after gathering near his official residence. One protester was arrested for smashing a police bus window, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Yoon said after the verdict that he was “very sorry and regretful that I could not live up to your expectations” and that he wanted to “deeply thank all of you who have supported and encouraged me despite my many shortcomings”.
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung hailed the court ruling, saying Yoon “destroyed the constitution and threatened the people and democracy with the guns and knives entrusted to him by the people”, AFP reports.
The interim leader of Yoon’s ruling People Power party, Kwon Young-se, apologised to the people, saying the party humbly accepted the court’s ruling and pledging to work with the acting president to stabilise the country.
With Yoon’s removal, a presidential election is required to take place within 60 days, according to the South Korean constitution. The prime minister, Han Duck-soo, will continue to serve as acting president until the new president is inaugurated.
Yoon’s ousting from office caps months of political turmoil in South Korea that have overshadowed its efforts to deal with Donald Trump’s new US administration at a time of slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The South Korean won was largely unfazed by Friday’s ruling, remaining at about 1% higher v the dollar at 1,436.6 per dollar by 0249 GMT. The benchmark KOSPI was down 0.7%, also unchanged from the morning.
– With agencies
Updated
More reaction here, with Lina Yoon, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, saying the president’s attempt to impose martial law in December 2024 posed “a grave threat to human rights and the rule of law”.
If martial law had been maintained, South Koreans would have faced the risk of arrest and detention without trial as well as severe restrictions on their freedom of expression and assembly, among other human rights violations.
Yoon said the constitutional court’s ruling was a “decisive step to uphold human rights protections and democratic values”.
