The Constitutional Court has decided to announce its ruling on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol at 11 a.m. on the 4th. If six or more judges vote in favor of impeachment, President Yoon will be removed from office immediately. Conversely, if fewer than six judges vote in favor of impeachment, President Yoon will return to his duties.
The Constitutional Court noted in a text message sent to reporters on the 1st, "The ruling on the impeachment case of President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. on the 4th in the Constitutional Court’s Grand Bench." It added, "Live broadcasting by media outlets and public attendance will be permitted on the day of the ruling."
The Constitutional Court's ruling on President Yoon's impeachment comes 111 days after the National Assembly voted to impeach him. This is the longest time taken for deliberations among presidential impeachment trials in history. In the past, former President Roh Moo-hyun returned to his duties 63 days after the impeachment vote, while former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office 91 days after her impeachment.
President Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 14 last year, just 11 days after the declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. At that time, the National Assembly claimed in the impeachment motion that "(President Yoon) betrayed the trust of the people and abused the constitutional authority to declare martial law for the purpose of disrupting the constitution, mobilizing government, military, and police forces, committing a treasonous act (as the head), neglecting the duty to safeguard the constitution, and engaged in serious unconstitutional and illegal conduct in the execution of his duties." It further stated, "President Yoon's acts of insurrection and abuse of the martial law declaration authority constitute a serious violation of the constitution and laws that jeopardize the existence of the state, justifying his removal from office." It also declared that "President Yoon's unconstitutional and illegal acts are so serious that they cannot be tolerated from the perspective of safeguarding the constitution, and his betrayal of the public's trust has reached a level where he has lost the eligibility to govern."
There are currently eight Constitutional Court justices. If six or more find that President Yoon has violated the constitution or laws in the execution of his duties, an impeachment decision will be made. The Constitutional Court holds that impeachment can only occur for serious violations; minor violations do not justify impeachment. Serious violations imply that the public should withdraw their trust in the president. The Constitutional Court also applies the assessment of whether the president has the will to uphold the constitution in determining impeachment.
Our constitution stipulates that a new president must be elected within 60 days if the president is removed through impeachment. The day that marks 60 days from the ruling of the Constitutional Court on President Yoon's impeachment on the 4th is June 3.
Conversely, if fewer than six Constitutional Court justices vote in favor of impeachment, President Yoon will immediately return to his duties. In his final statement on the impeachment trial on Feb. 25, President Yoon stated, "If (the Constitutional Court issues a ruling dismissing the impeachment), and I am allowed to return to my duties, I plan to focus on promoting constitutional amendments and political reforms to properly hand over a well-functioning country to future generations, adapting the 87 system to our needs during the latter half of my term."