The News
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two separate Seoul courtrooms Thursday, as the embattled leader faces criminal and impeachment charges related to his botched December attempt to impose martial law..
At the criminal trial hearing — Yoon is the first of the country’s sitting presidents to be tried criminally — his lawyers argued that the martial law declaration was a reaction to the opposition’s “legislative dictatorship.” Previously, Yoon said he sought to protect from “anti-state forces” aligned with the country’s longtime enemy North Korea, which he claimed had infiltrated the main opposition party.
The country’s Constitutional Court has the greatest say in Yoon’s fate: It is set to decide whether to permanently remove him from office in the coming weeks. That would strip him of any presidential immunity, and see him face a potential sentence — if convicted — of life in prison or death, although legal experts say the latter is unlikely. It would also trigger elections to be held in 60 days.
The pending decision risks deepening South Korea’s political crisis regardless of the outcome, as the country becomes increasingly polarized, a Seoul-based legal expert told The New York Times.
Know More
President Yoon still enjoys widespread support, with thousands of South Koreans rallying outside the courts and the president’s residence, and even clashing with police as they moved to arrest him.
Fueling their support, the BBC reported, are conspiracies of North Korean influence — something Yoon himself echoed after his martial law declaration failed. “If the country is impeached and the opposition leader is elected, our country will become one with North Korea and Kim Jong-Un,” one Yoon supporter said.