SEOUL: The Constitutional Court here on Friday (4th April, 2025) has ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, upholding parliament’s impeachment motion over his imposition of martial law on 3rd Dec, 2024.
It may be recalled that on 15th Jan, three thousand policemen marched on the hillside house of President Yoon Suk Yeol (where he had been holed up following declaration of Martial Law). Cops nabbed him after scaling the walls. The residence of Yoon Suk Yeol was being guarded by a small army of personal security, who prevented his arrest earlier. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) was in the process of probing a criminal case involving rebellion against him.
But due to the large number of policemen he surrendered saying: “I decided to respond to the CIO’s investigation — despite it being an illegal investigation — to prevent unsavoury bloodshed.” He happens to be the first incumbent S. Korean President to be arrested in a country that has a history of incarcerating leaders. Yoon Suk Yeol had declared emergency martial law to safeguard “liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements”.
While helicopters landed on the Parliament’s roof, a resolution requesting to lift martial law, voted by 190/300 lawmakers of S. Korean National Assembly, was submitted by Speaker Woo Won-sik. Commenting on the development, (the then) American Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stated: “We are watching the recent developments in the Republic of Korea with grave concern
“…We have every hope and expectation that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law…I do want to underscore that our alliance with the ROK is ironclad, and we stand by Korea in their time of uncertainty.” There are twenty-eight thousand five hundred American troops in South Korea to defend it from North Korea.
Newspakistan.tv
