South Korean courts to decide fate of impeached president Yoon in coming days
South Koreaâs Constitutional Court will rule on Friday as to whether it will formally dismiss or reinstate impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol.
The court has been deliberating on Yoonâs political fate over his ill-fated imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis.
Whatever decision the court makes, it will likely deepen domestic division in South Korea.
Millions of people have rallied in Seoul and elsewhere to support or denounce Yoon in the past few months.
Police said they will mobilise all available personnel to preserve order on Friday and respond to acts of vandalism, arson and assault.
The Constitutional Court said in a statement on Tuesday that it would issue the ruling on Friday.
The opposition-controlled liberal National Assembly in December voted to impeach Yoon, a conservative, leaving his political fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court.
Yoon is facing a separate criminal trial after he was arrested and indicted by prosecutors in January on rebellion charges in connection with his December 3 martial law decree.
The Constitutional Courtâs endorsement of Yoonâs impeachment would officially drive him out of office and prompt a national election within two months to find a new president.
If the court overturns Yoonâs impeachment, he would immediately return to his presidential duties.
At the heart of the matter is Yoonâs decision to send hundreds of troops and police officers to the assembly after imposing martial law.
Yoon has insisted that he aimed to maintain order, but some military and police officials have said Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to frustrate a floor vote on his decree and detain his political opponents.
Yoon argues that he did not intend to maintain martial law for long, and he only wanted to highlight what he called the âwickednessâ of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which obstructed his agenda, impeached senior officials and slashed his budget bill.
During his martial law announcement, he called the assembly âa den of criminalsâ and âanti-state forcesâ.
By law, a president has the right to declare martial law in wartime or other emergencies, but the Democratic Party and its supporters say South Korea was not in such a situation.
The Democratic Party-led impeachment motion accused Yoon of suppressing parliamentâs activities, attempting to detain politicians and others and undermining peace in violation of the constitution and other laws.
Yoon has said he had no intention of disrupting National Assembly operations and detaining anyone.
Yoonâs martial law lasted only six hours because lawmakers managed to enter the assembly and vote to strike down his decree unanimously.
No violence erupted, but live TV footage showing armed soldiers arriving at the assembly invoked painful memories of past military-backed dictatorships. It was the first time South Korea had been placed under martial law since 1980.
