S. Korea court to rule Friday on President Yoon impeachment
South Korea's Constitutional Court will issue its long-awaited ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment Friday, months after he was suspended for declaring martial law.
The court has held weeks of impeachment hearings to determine whether to officially remove Yoon from office, after he was impeached by lawmakers over his short-lived suspension of civilian rule.
"The president's impeachment case verdict will be on April 4, 2025 at the Constitutional Court," the court said in a statement Tuesday.
The Constitutional Court has until June to decide his fate but it has typically issued rulings within weeks for past presidential impeachment cases.
The court has taken longer over the case than expected, giving rise to a surge in speculation with some suggesting the justices must be experiencing intense disagreements.
For Yoon to be removed from office, at least six of the court's eight justices must vote in favour.
Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have been rallying for and against Yoon every weekend in central Seoul.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, was detained in January on insurrection charges but was released in early March on procedural grounds. He has remained defiant throughout and blamed a "malicious" opposition.
He is also the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case, facing charges of insurrection over the martial law bid.
- Fresh elections? -
South Korea has been roiled for months by Yoon's declaration of martial law on December 3, which also shocked world allies.
If the Constitutional Court decides to formally dismiss the president, it would trigger elections in 60 days -- which opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is currently frontrunner to win.
An appeals court last week overturned an election law conviction against Lee, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign.
But if it is reinstated on appeal before the election, he will be stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running for office for five years, including the next presidential vote.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the ruling on Lee may have appeared "to many Koreans to be reading the political tea leaves".
"This is the judiciary trying to unwind the lawfare of the past three years to allow South Korea's political crisis to be resolved by an election rather than by the courts."
In a separate case, the Constitutional Court last week dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating him as acting president -- a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.
Experts said the ruling did not have a direct legal correlation with the pending decision on Yoon's impeachment, as it was not focused on the legality of martial law itself.
hs-kjk/ceb/rsc
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Deseret News condemns Lee's posts about Minnesota shooting
The Deseret News has condemned Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee for social media posts about two shootings in Minnesota, writing that his comments 'were unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate.' The Utah-based publication, a subsidiary of the Morman-owned Deseret Management Corporation, accused Lee of casting a 'poor light' on Utah after the senator posted multiple messages on X that seemed to blame Democrats — including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — for the violence. 'The tweets were unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate,' the Deseret News editorial board wrote. 'It revealed a lack of compassion for both victims and their loved ones and cast a poor light on Utah, the state Sen. Lee represents.' Lee's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Sunday, Lee posted two separate messages to his X account about the weekend shooting in Minnesota that left a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband dead and another Democratic elected official and his wife seriously wounded. Lee also posted about the alleged shooter, 57-year-old Vance Boelter. Boelter was arrested Sunday and is now facing multiple charges, including murder. 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way,' Lee stated in one post. Another post included photos of Boelter with the caption 'Nightmare on Waltz Street,' referring to and misspelling Walz. Lee quickly faced backlash from other Congressional members, including Democratic Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a friend of slain state Rep. Melissa Hortman. Smith confronted Lee on Monday in a hallway off the Senate floor during evening votes. 'I wanted him to know how much pain that caused me and the other people in my state, and I think around the country, who think that this was a brutal attack,' Smith told reporters. 'I don't know whether Senator Lee thought fully through what it was — you have to ask him — but I needed him to hear from me directly what impact I think his cruel statement had on me, his colleague.' Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also said she spoke to Lee about the posts. Lee faced criticism from members of his own party as well. North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said Lee's decision to comment 'seems insensitive, to say the least, inappropriate, for sure' and 'not even true.' Lee deleted the posts on Tuesday, but the Deseret News editorial board is calling for Lee to issue an apology. 'Removing the tweets was a start,' the board said. 'An apology and recognition of the mistake should follow.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Conservative blasts Senator Mike Lee for 'secretly trying to sell' US land: 'It's a loser issue to the American people'
A top conservative environmentalist is calling out a Republican U.S. senator as a "liar" and igniting a fiery public debate about whether America's public lands should be for sale. Benji Backer, founder of the nonprofit environmental organization Nature Is Nonpartisan, has publicly condemned Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah for his attempt to reintroduce a controversial proposal into the Senate reconciliation bill that would sell public lands for development. In a post earlier this week, Backer accused Lee of "a secret mass sell-off (of some of America's most sensitive areas)." When Lee responded, arguing that Backer was wrong about the land eligible for development, Backer called Lee a "liar" and pleaded with other Republican senators not to "let this man ruin our legacy on conservation." X's Community Notes moderation tool also called out Senator Lee's response to Backer as "incorrect," fact-checking him with a confirmation of Backer's allegations that Lee's proposal would sell off some of America's most precious lands. In an exclusive interview with The Cool Down, Backer said that while Senator Lee's office has reached out to him about the public spat, he's still not planning to back down. "I'm representing the vast majority of conservatives, and I'm willing to go to the mat on this — I stand by what I said," Backer told The Cool Down. "The American people do not support the mass sell off of public land. It's critical for the future of America that we stop this," he added. "Public lands are part of our legacy." During negotiations in the House of Representatives around the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill," Utah Representative Celeste Maloy introduced a proposal that would allow 10,000 acres of public lands in Utah and about 500,000 acres in Nevada to be sold off for the development of affordable housing. That proposal received significant criticism from conservatives and environmental advocates, and it was struck from the bill before it moved to the Senate. But when the Bill moved to the Senate, Utah Senator Mike Lee, the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, reintroduced the proposal at an even larger scale, expanding the sale of up to 3 million acres of public lands to provide additional housing across 11 states. "He put it in there hoping that no one was going to notice it, adding even more acres for sales than the House bill," Backer said in the interview. While Senator Lee's proposal doesn't allow the sale of national parks, it would allow the sale of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service across 11 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Backer linked to an interactive map on X and displayed screenshots in an Instagram carousel. Sen. Lee argues that, in addition to creating revenue, the proposal would give states like Utah, where two-thirds of the land is managed by the federal government, more control over their land. "We're opening underused federal land to expand housing, support local development and get Washington, D.C., out of the way of communities that are just trying to grow," Lee said in a video. "Washington has proven, time and again, it can't manage this land. This bill puts it in better hands." The bill would require the Interior and Agriculture secretaries to publish a list of lands for sale and consult with local officials and tribes. Proceeds would go to the U.S. Treasury, with 5% of each sale given to the local government to support local housing development and 5% towards maintenance on other BLM and Forest Service land. The proposal also includes plans to expand gas, coal, geothermal, and timber leasing on public lands. The problem, Backer says, is that there are no specifics provided about exactly which lands would be eligible for sale or who would be allowed to buy the lands. "As a conservative, it's also really worrisome that it doesn't say who can and can't buy [this land]," he told The Cool Down. "You're telling me that China can't come in and develop it — you're telling us that they're not going to take this opportunity to buy these lands?" As Republicans such as Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia has expressed concern about, companies from China, some state-run, have been buying American agriculture land and businesses over the last decade. NPR reported the figure to be near 400,000 acres of land in 2023. Backer argued that the areas under threat are some of the most pristine wilderness in our country. National polling of 4,000 Americans surveyed this spring from YouGov showed that 71% of those surveyed oppose selling lands. "This is a non-starter, it's a loser issue to the American people," he said. The proposal is also receiving serious backlash from hunters, fishers, anglers, and leaders in the outdoor recreation industry, who sent a letter to Sen. John Thune and Sen. Chuck Schumer encouraging them to omit federal public land sales from the budget reconciliation bill. "While we appreciate the desire to address federal land management challenges and respond to local community needs, we ask that any public land disposal be considered within transparent, public channels and that funding from sales be reinvested back into habitat and access," the letter said. In fact, the existing bipartisan Federal Land Transaction Act already requires that proceeds from public land sales be reinvested in conservation or ecological restoration. The letter to Thune and Schumer also outlined several concerns about the public lands sell-off proposal: It wouldn't allow for public engagement among hunters, anglers, recreationalists, and other stakeholders The proceeds from land sales would go toward economic development instead of land conservation and would "likely lower the ecological and recreational value of our public lands." Sales could have a negative effect on rural economies and cultural heritage, noting that the outdoor recreation industry has demonstrated a $1.2 trillion economic output nationally. Underneath the public land dispute is a real challenge around the availability of affordable housing for Americans and the protection of our natural resources. But Backer argues that there is another way to tackle these issues without sacrificing the country's natural beauty. "Affordable housing is a real challenge, and the lack of space for cities to grow is something that is challenging," he said. "At the same time, we aren't managing our national lands very well. But the answer to those challenges is not to sell off millions of acres of land secretly with places for sale being the most pristine." Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Backer argues that any considerations around public land sales should be supported by local buy-in and data — and any land sales should focus on non-ecologically sensitive areas. Backer also warns that the proposal is "a very slippery slope." Selling off even a limited number of acres now could set a troubling precedent for the future. That, Backer says, risks triggering a cascading effect of land sale and development, which could "impact conservation for the rest of our lives." "We don't get these lands back," he said, "This is our legacy." Backer, whose organization is working with the current administration and other national leaders to advance nonpartisan environmental policy, is hoping that speaking out will inspire people to reach out to their Senators to voice their opposition to the proposal and demand stronger protections for public lands. "There is nothing 'conservative' or 'American' about selling a massive chunk of our nation's most beautiful landscape to developers," Backer wrote on X. "This should always transcend partisan politics…always." While he told The Cool Down that he's willing to have a conversation with any Senator who wants to discuss solutions, he added that he's "not willing to back down until lawmakers are willing to 'try a different approach' to tackling challenges like access to affordable housing alongside the protection of our national lands." "Americans don't want their public lands to be developed for economic gain," he said. "That's not what Teddy Roosevelt intended. That's not what Ronald Reagan intended. That's not what Richard Nixon intended. That's not what President Trump intended in his first term," he said. "Public lands have always been for the public's benefit. They are one of our best ideas." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Michael Steele Slams Trump, Mike Lee With Damning Questions About Minnesota Remarks
MSNBC host Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, excoriated President Donald Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Tuesday over their 'astounding' insensitivity following the assassination of Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband over the weekend. 'It just is astounding to me, the level of immaturity, insensitivity and lack of empathy between Senator Lee and, of course, President Trump, who said, 'I don't need to talk to … [Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz], he's a mess,'' Steele said on 'The Weeknight.' 'Who do these people represent?' he added. 'Is this who we are in this country now?' When reporters asked the president Tuesday if he had called Walz yet to discuss the incident, he said the Democrat is 'slick' and 'whacked out.' Trump, who vowed last year to be president 'for all of America, not half of America,' then plainly refused. 'I'm not calling him,' he said aboard Air Force One. The Hortmans were fatally shot early Saturday at their Minnesota home by a gunman impersonating a police officer. Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, were also shot multiple times at their home. The latter couple has since undergone surgery. A suspect wanted in the attack was later identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter and was arrested Sunday after a manhunt. Lee had shared several social media posts in the meantime, baselessly suggesting Boelter was into 'Marxism' and part of the political left. 'Is this what we do?' Steele asked Tuesday about Lee's and Trump's comments. 'We've gone through 9/11. We've gone through COVID. We've gone through trials and tribulations as a country. We've watched individuals suffer, and we've rallied to them in the past.' Lee had also shared an image of the suspect at a victim's door, writing: 'Nightmare on Waltz Street.' Boelter was appointed in 2019 by Walz's office to the Governor's Workforce Development Board, but was also an apparent conservative who attended Trump rallies. 'I don't understand what this says now,' Steele said during Tuesday's discussion. 'What are we saying about ourselves, when our leaders — a United States senator and a president of the United States — act like a damn 2-year-old?' Steele went on to wager that the Republicans in question are plain 'insensitive, just not realizing what their words mean and the impact that they're having,' and 'really don't seem to care.' One of his co-hosts went even further with Steele's prior point about immaturity. 'I think there are some 2-year-olds that actually have more decency than the president of the United States and the senator from Utah have exhibited in this moment,' said Symone Sanders Townsend. Lee has since deleted many of the social media posts. Tina Smith's Face-To-Face With 'Shocked' Mike Lee Is A Proven Way To Confront A Bully Sen. Mike Lee Backtracks After Deranged Tweets About Minnesota Assassination 'What The F**k Is Wrong With That Guy?': Jon Stewart Shames Senator For 'Depravity'
