Constitutional Court should resolve the nation’s uncertainty

President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment motion passed the National Assembly on Saturday, just 11 days after the alleged illegal martial law declaration. As of 7:24 p.m. on Saturday, President Yoon's duties and authority have been suspended, and the Constitutional Court has promptly begun impeachment proceedings. "Although the impeachment motion has been passed, social unrest persists," legal experts have commented. "It is now 'the Constitutional Court's time,' and a swift and fair ruling is needed to resolve the uncertainty."

The National Assembly held a plenary session on Saturday, where all 300 members participated in the vote. The impeachment motion was approved with 204 votes in favor, 85 against, three abstentions, and eight invalid votes. This marks the third presidential impeachment in the nation's constitutional history, following President Roh Moo-hyun in March 2004 and President Park Geun-hye in December 2016. In accordance with the Constitution, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president.

The Constitutional Court has assigned the impeachment case against President Yoon a case number and initiated the impeachment trial process. On Monday, it plans to assign a lead justice for the case. Two appointed justices will oversee preparatory procedures, and a task force will be formed for legal review. The legal circle predicts that the ruling will be made before April 18 next year, when the terms of acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Lee Mi-sun are set to expire. "The Constitutional Court is likely to take into account the national consensus that the presidential vacancy should be resolved as quickly as possible,” Professor Jang Young-soo at Korea University Law School remarked. If the court upholds the impeachment, President Yoon would become the second president to be impeached during their term in office.


Won-Mo Yu onemore@donga.com