Political crisis in South Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol impeached

South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol has been impeached, almost to the day, four months after he declared martial law in December. The country's Constitutional Court has ruled, describing Yoon's actions as a "betrayal of the people's trust," according to Yonhap news agency.

It was on December 3 last year that Yoon shocked the country and the world by declaring a state of emergency and martial law. But the president did not have the legal authority to do so, nor to send soldiers to parliament to try to prevent it from lifting martial law.

The ruling means that Yoon Suk-Yeol has been impeached. He is immediately removed from office. South Korea now has two months to hold elections to elect a new president.

Deposed President Yoon: “I am sad and devastated”

South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk-Yeol apologizes on TV after being impeached and removed from office.

“I am truly sad and devastated that I failed to live up to your expectations,” says Yoon.

On December 3 last year, Yoon Suk-Yeol declared a state of emergency and martial law. The court has now ruled that the requirements for a national emergency were not met.

The court finds that Yoon also broke the law when he sent soldiers to parliament when it was supposed to lift martial law, reports South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Analysis: “Yoon played poker with the country’s democracy”

Big challenges await the new president of South Korea. This is stated by DN's Marianne Björklund after the country's Constitutional Court ruled that Yoon Suk-Yeol broke the law and has now been removed from office.

She believes that he played poker with the country's democracy and failed.

"The new president faces the challenge of reducing tensions in the deeply polarized country," writes Björklund.

She exemplifies this with young K-pop fans who have become politically active at the same time as Yoon's supporters spread conspiracy theories that the last election was rigged.

In Nk news, Shreyas Reddy writes that there is fear about what the relationship with North Korea will look like in the future.

Since Yoon came to power, the tone towards North Korea has escalated, trust in the military has decreased and anxiety has increased. Therefore, the removal of Yoon could lead to a less hostile attitude towards North Korea, Reddy notes.