South Korea’s Presidential Impeachment Was Long Overdue
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has finally impeached disgraced right-wing president Yoon Suk-yeol after his failed coup last December. Yoon and his conservative allies have given a major boost to a far-right movement that is hostile to democracy.
Yoon Suk-yeol at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, on January 23, 2025. (Seong Joon Cho / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
After more than seven weeks of deliberations, South Korea’s Constitutional Court has finally upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who attempted to subvert the constitutional order with a botched bid for martial law in December. However, the unanimous verdict from eight judges laid bare a country increasingly fractured by social and political tensions.
“Since the unconstitutional and illegal acts of the defendant [Yoon] have had a significantly negative ripple effect on the constitutional order,” the verdict from April 4 reads, “the benefit of protecting the constitution by removing the defendant overwhelmingly outweighs the national loss that comes with the removal of a president.” South Korea is now due to hold a snap presidential election to choose Yoon’s successor on June 3.
Contempt for Democracy
The verdict elated the majority of South Koreans, who braved a freezing winter to daily protest Yoon’s attempt to dismantle the very democracy that had elected him to the country’s highest office. The thirty-eight days leading to the highest court’s decision also exposed the fragility of South Korea’s democracy — and the ruling elite’s unabashed contempt for it — in spite of the resilience of its people.
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