South Korea's beleaguered president Yook Suk Yeol was removed from office on Friday after a panel of judges upheld his impeachment over a short-lived martial law attempt last December, IPN reports, with reference to BBC.
Yoon justified his extraordinary martial law order last year by accusing the opposition of "trying to overthrow the free democracy". The presidential order sparked massive protests in the country, and the law was lifted in a short time.
Subsequently, lawmakers in Seoul voted to impeach Yook Suk Yeol. In January the president was arrested, and in March he was released. His detention was cancelled for technical reasons.
The decision of the Constitutional Court judges is final and with immediate effect. Therefore, the dismissed president must leave the presidential residence.
"The defendant not only declared martial law, but also violated the constitution and laws by mobilizing military and police forces to obstruct the exercise of legislative authority," said the acting chief justice Moon Hyung-bae, quoted by The Guardian.
The election of the new South Korean president can be organized in 60 days.
Yook Suk Yeol had ruled South Korea for more than two years, since taking office on May 10, 2022. He is the second president to be dismissed, after Park Geun-hye, in 2017. If convicted, Yeol faces life in prison or death, although South Korea has not carried out any executions since the late 1990s.
Photo source: The Associated Press
