On the afternoon of February 25, the Korean Constitutional Court held the 11th and final public debate on the impeachment case of President Yoon Soe-yeon, hearing the final statements of the prosecution and the defense and Yoon Soe-yeon herself. It marks an important juncture in the country’s“Emergency Martial Law” campaign, which began on December 3 and 2024 the end of the impeachment trial and the countdown to a substantive verdict. If the court rules in favor of the impeachment motion, Yoon will step down immediately and a presidential election will be held within 60 days. If the impeachment motion is rejected, Yoon will be reinstated as president, but his legal troubles are far from over as he faces another criminal charge related to the rebellion. In all cases of presidential impeachment in South Korea’s history, the Constitutional Court has ruled about two weeks after final appeal. The South Korean Kyunghyang Shinmun magazine predicts the impeachment case could be announced as soon as March 6, with a final verdict expected on March 13 at the latest. South Korean legal circles that the Constitutional Court 8 judges may unanimously agree to remove Yoon Suk-yeon, but does not rule out the possibility of change.
On the 25th, South Korean police outside the Constitutional Court to drive away the attempt to break into the court of Yoon Seok-yeon supporters. On the same day, the Constitutional Court held Yin xiyue impeachment trial final debate. (AFP)
Yin Xiyue insists on pleading not guilty
At 14:00 on the 25th, South Korea’s Constitutional Court Yoon Seok-yeon impeachment trial began the 11th public debate, lasting about 8 hours. According to the trial schedule, the court first verified the evidence and then heard the combined submissions of the prosecution and the defence. At about 8 pm, the parliamentary impeachment committee head Zheng Qinglai and Yin Xiyue I began to make a final statement. In his final statement, Yoon first expressed his apology and gratitude to the South Korean people, but he still said that“The declaration of ’emErgency Martial Law’ is an appeal to the people in the form of martial law”, “It is to show that the country is in an existential crisis and to call on the people to face reality and work together to overcome the crisis.”.
Zheng Qinglai listed five reasons for impeaching Yin Xiyue: first, declaring that“Emergency martial law” did not meet the constitutional requirement of“In time of war, incident or corresponding national emergency”; Second, the State Council held before martial law had major defects in form and essence; third, armed soldiers were sent to parliament to disturb the constitutional order of the country; Fifth, the illegal dispatch of soldiers, attempting to arrest and detain the Central Election Management Committee, the Ministry of Justice and other major figures. Ms Zheng said that when MS yin declared“Emergency Martial Law” on December 3, the 2024“Witnessed violent acts by armed soldiers” on live television. “Yin Xiyue is trying to destroy the constitution and Ravage the parliament. For the sake of democracy and national development, Yin Xiyue should be impeached.”.
In the Constitutional Court’s previous trial on the impeachment case, Yin Xiyue side has been very hard line. On January 14, the trial of Yin Xiyue began for the first time. The first hearing lasted just four minutes and was hastily concluded in Ms Yin’s absence. It wasn’t until his third trial on Jan. 21 that Yin appeared for the first time, when he denied all the charges. Several subsequent trials have revolved around a variety of evidence and witnesses. At the ninth hearing, Yin left during a debate.
According to the The Hankyoreh, before the final debate in the impeachment trial, Yin Xiyue asked his lawyer to send a message to the National Lawyers Group, a civic organization that supports him. “I hope you middle-aged, older and younger generations can work together to achieve generational unity,” he stressed, “I will return to my post as soon as possible and lead South Korea with the strength of generational unity.”
In addition, Yin Xiyue also attended another hearing on the same day. Seoul District Court held the first pretrial conference on the case of Yoon Suk-yueh at 10:00 am Monday. Yin attended the pre-trial meeting and advocated lifting his detention measures. Yin’s side said it was“Illegal to remain in detention after the expiry of the period of detention and to prosecute”, but prosecutors countered that it was“Lawful to prosecute during the period of effective detention”.
A ruling is due in mid-march
The The Hankyoreh and Chosun Ilbo and other media analyzed that the final sentencing of the Yin xiyue impeachment case may be similar to the impeachment trials of former presidents ROH Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, a verdict is likely to be handed down about two weeks after the last debate (on February 25th) and before the second week of March. The impeachment cases against ROH Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye took 63 days and 91 days, respectively, and the verdicts came two weeks and 11 days after the last debate.
The Constitutional Court has Kyunghyang Shinmun Yin’s impeachment case as a top priority and is expected to deliver its verdict in mid-march, according to the official gazette. Lin Zhifeng, a law professor at Xijiang University, predicted that a verdict could be announced as soon as March 6 and as late as March 13. At the time of the Park Geun-hye impeachment trial, the judges’ deliberations were held after all debates. However, during the Yin xiyue impeachment debate, the judges of the Constitutional Court held deliberations once a week and collected opinions from all sides, so a decision can be made quickly. But Lam also believes the Constitutional Court may not rule as quickly as expected, given the huge impact the ruling will have. Lam believes that if the Constitutional Court delivers a speedy verdict, protests from Yin Xiyue’s side or supporters will mount, so the court may decide on a date in a way that minimises the current chaos.
South Korean media believe that there are three possible outcomes in the impeachment case: first, the decision that impeachment is established, Yoon Suk-yueh was subsequently removed from office, and South Korea has entered a transitional period of a new presidential election. Second, it ruled that impeachment was not established and Yin Xiyue continued to be in power. Third, partly established, partly rejected, the court found that part of the charges, but not enough to constitute dismissal, yin xiyue continued to rule. It is widely believed in the legal community that the judges of the Constitutional Court will probably agree unanimously to impeach Yoon, but uncertainty can not be ruled out.
For the impeachment case of Yoon Sik-yueh, South Korea’s latest poll results show that more than half of the interviewed South Korean people believe that Yoon sik-yueh should be impeached from office, but many people support the dismissal of the impeachment case. According to the Yonhap news agency, 52 percent of respondents supported the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove Yoon and 45.1 percent said the impeachment case should be dismissed, according to a poll released by realmeter on February 24. Asked whether the Constitutional Court’s trial of impeachment cases was fair, 50.7 percent of respondents said yes, while 45 percent said no. Such divided public opinion also worries many South Korean media. The Kyunghyang Shinmun said that no matter whether Yoon stepped down or was reinstated, there would be a storm in South Korean politics.
The changing situation after the impeachment case
Since yoon declared“Emergency Martial Law” in December last year, nearly three months of political turmoil on the South Korean economy, society and diplomacy have far-reaching impact. Deep-seated contradictions in society continue to intensify, Yin Xiyue supporters and opponents often tens of thousands of people in the streets of demonstrations so that social polarization continues to deepen. Recently, many South Korean universities have taken place in large-scale demonstrations and rallies. Yonhap news agency, said the original peaceful campus at the same time appeared for and against the impeachment of Yin Xiyue Voice, the conflict is so fierce that people doubt whether there are forces behind meddling.
The battle between South Korean parliamentarians of both parties is also heating up. The ruling party, the national strength party, has once again turned on the public prosecutors. On February 24, pro-yoon lawmakers once again came to the South Korean senior public officials crime investigation office (referred to as the public investigation office, which had been responsible for executing the arrest warrant against Yoon Si-yueh) to demonstrate and shout at the entrance of the public investigation office, demanding that the public investigation office be disbanded, and release Yin Xiyue.
The The Hankyoreh said on Wednesday that Yin had been resisting arrest in a last-ditch attempt to avoid stepping down after the“Emergency Martial Law” incident. Incredibly, some far-right elements supported Yin’s vexatious actions, openly claiming that“Martial law is a way to save the nation” and obstructing impeachment trials and civil unrest investigations. These ultra-right forces also broke into the western Seoul district court that issued the arrest warrant for Yoon So-yoon a few days ago, exercising the so-called“Right of national resistance” and attempting to create a riot. The report said that this approach of the extreme right forces has made South Korea’s constitutional system controversial, and the national consensus that“Emergency Martial Law is unconstitutional” has also appeared split, let the absolute authority of the legislative and judicial branches, which wish to eliminate as soon as possible the threat to the constitutional order, be called into question or denied. The rioters, under the delusion that they might control the country’s destiny, are making South Korea a very dangerous society.
In addition, the Supreme Court held the final debate of Yin Xiyue impeachment trial, indicating that the trial is coming. South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties are shifting their focus to elections that could follow the impeachment case. The opposition Democratic Party’s favourite, Lee Jae-myung, the party’s presidential candidate in the last election, has been dogged by lawsuits, though his approval ratings are high. A new presidential election must be held within 60 days of the court’s final ruling if Yin is The Hankyoreh from office, it said Wednesday. Even if impeachment fails, a 2027 South Korean presidential election is looming. Both Yoon and Lee Jae-myung, the last presidential candidates of the ruling National Strength Party and the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, are due to be sentenced in March. A second trial in Lee Jae-myung’s case for breach of the public office Elections Act is also expected in March. The DPJ is watching closely to see whether the first-instance verdict against Lee Jae-Myung — a one-year suspended prison sentence and disqualification from parliament — could be overturned. Therefore, South Korea march demonstrations will become more frequent, for a while will be difficult to stop.
“Emergency martial law” incident and impeachment case triggered the South Korean public opinion began to reflect. The parliament and the Government Act independently, the ruling party and the opposition party continue to oppose each other and only care about the interests of their respective political parties. The national governance has stagnated, which has deepened the people’s frustration and disappointment. The The Hankyoreh said a general election was likely to follow Yoon’s impeachment. Surprisingly, the agenda for Park Geun-hye’s impeachment is very similar to that of eight years ago: “Motion for impeachment in December,”“Recall in March,”“General election in May.”. In any case, it’s hard to deny that history will repeat itself, but“The first time as a tragedy, the second time as a comedy,” the report said. The unfortunate history is familiar. . . Korea should learn from the repeated history.