Will South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol be impeached? Verdict tomorrow. Here's what we know so far

The South Korean Constitution is all set to present its verdict on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The court has said that the verdict will be out at 11 AM on Friday (Apr 5).

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This verdict will decide Yoon Suk Yeol's fate and if he will be able to return to office until the next elections. If he is impeached, then he will be removed from office and fresh elections will take place in South Korea within 60 days.

As per South Korean law, at least six out of the court's eight judges must uphold his impeachment order.

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Security tightened in South Korea

Reports indicate that South Korea is bracing for a potentially violent public reaction to the impeachment order by the courts amid the country's worst political crisis in decades. A 150-metre (164-yard) stretch of a four-lane street in front of the constitutional court will be closed to cars and pedestrians, with several layers of police buses parked bumper to bumper along both sides of the road and their wheels chained, International news agency Reuters reported. A 1.85 km (1.15 mile) radius around the court has been declared a no-fly zone for Friday and the eight justices have been given security protection, the Reuters report added. The police have warned of zero tolerance for any illegal activities related to the court decision.

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Why was Yoon Suk Yeol impeached?

In December 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law, citing a threat from communist forces and North Korea. He mentioned anti-government agents and "obstructionism and sympathetic stance towards North Korea" as his reasons for imposing martial law.

The imposition of martial law resulted in huge protests and nationwide backlash. The South Korean president was already facing criticism over several of his domestic and foreign policies, including reports of interference in investigations into allegations of corruption against his wife Kim Keon-hee. His approval ratings had also dropped massively this year, as per local reports. The imposition of martial law only made matters worse for him. The memories of the brutality of martial law are fresh in the minds of the South Korean public. Therefore, Yoon's move to impose martial law brought back memories of the past. Yoon miscalculated the public sentiment and assumed that the imposition of martial law was the only way to curb political unrest and opposition.

Yoon was forced to lift the martial law after six hours after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn it. But, it has put his political career at stake.

South Korea's martial law and history of impeachment

According to the South Korean constitution, when martial law is imposed civil rights, freedom of the press and all political activities are suspended and the military takes over. Martial law was a recurring tool used by military leaders to suppress dissent and consolidate power in South Korea's authoritarian, dictatorship past. It only ended with the June Democratic Struggle of 1987, when South Korea transitioned to democracy. Therefore, when martial law was imposed, the country’s lawmakers rapidly mobilised and moved to the National Assembly to vote to reject martial law.

Only two presidents have been impeached in South Korea's political history with only one president's impeachment upheld by the Constitution court. Park Geun-hye, who was South Korean president since 2013, was impeached by Parliament in 2017. The court upheld the impeachment in a unanimous 8–0 decision. She was daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee and she was the first woman president of South Korea. She was accused of receiving or requesting tens of millions of dollars from conglomerates, including Samsung.

Roh Moo-hyun served as the 16th president of South Korea, serving from 2003-08. He was impeached by the South Korean parliament on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act but his impeachment was overturned by the court in 2004.

(With inputs from agencies)