Overview

• The Constitutional Court is expected to rule this week on whether President Yoon Suk Yeol will be permanently removed from office following his impeachment over a controversial martial law declaration in December.
• Protests have intensified nationwide, with tens of thousands of demonstrators both supporting and opposing Yoon’s removal, prompting heightened police preparations to prevent unrest.
• If six or more of the court’s nine justices vote for impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days; otherwise, he will retain his position.
• The opposition Democratic Party has criticized delays in the ruling, citing growing social unrest and economic uncertainty, and has urged the court to act swiftly and responsibly.
• Yoon also faces a separate criminal trial on insurrection charges related to his martial law declaration, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face such charges.