South Korea’s Top Court Fires Impeached President
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
SEOUL (Worthy News) – Thousands of protesters cheered in Seoul Friday as they watched a broadcast announcing that South Korea’s top court voted unanimously to dismiss the country’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol.
The move cleared the way for the key U.S. ally to elect a new leader following months of political turmoil that tested the Asian nation’s democratic credentials.
In a ruling that millions of South Koreans watched on live television, the Constitutional Court’s eight justices endorsed the National Assembly’s decision to impeach Yoon for his “failed attempt” to place his country under martial law in December.
With that ruling, Yoon, suspended from office since the parliamentary vote on December 14, was formally unseated.
The unanimous verdict comes more than three months after the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon.
South Korea must now hold a national election within two months to find a new president. Surveys show that Lee Jae-myung, leader of the leading liberal opposition Democratic Party, was the early favorite candidate to become the country’s next president.
A massive crowd of anti-Yoon protesters gathering outside the Constitutional Court cheered and shook their fists when the decision was announced.
Some were seen in tears as they hugged each other. One protest leader led the chant, “We won!”
There were also cheers, applause, and sighs of relief among those watching at Seoul Station, the city’s central transit hub when people heard the court‘s ruling.
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