SEOUL — The formal impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol marks the end of one chapter in South Korea’s monthslong political crisis but ushers in a new phase of transition. Within the next two months, the country will hold an election to pick a new president, and the path to political stability is far from clear.
After deliberating for weeks, Constitutional Court justices surprised many observers with a resounding 8-0 vote. In announcing the verdict, Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae explained that the court firmly rejected the lynchpin claims of Yoon’s legal defense, namely that his martial law declaration was made in response to a “national emergency” and that it was intended as a wake-up call to the political opposition.
