SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 South Korea鈥檚 Constitutional Court will rule Friday on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol 鈥 a decision that either way will likely deepen domestic divisions.
The court has been deliberating on Yoon's political fate after the conservative leader was in December by the 春色直播 Assembly, which is controlled by the liberal opposition, over his brief imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis.
around the country to support or denounce Police said they鈥檒l mobilize all available personnel to preserve order and respond to possible acts of vandalism, arson and assault before and after the court's ruling.
The Constitutional Court said in a brief statement Tuesday that it would issue its ruling at 11 a.m. Friday and allow TV stations to broadcast it live.
Removing Yoon from office requires support from at least six of the court's eight justices. If the court rules against Yoon, South Korea must hold an election within two months for a new president. If the court overturns his impeachment, Yoon would immediately return to his presidential duties.
Jo Seung-lae, a spokesperson for the main liberal opposition Democratic Party which led Yoon's impeachment, called for the court to 鈥渄emonstrate its firm resolve鈥 to uphold the constitutional order by dismissing Yoon. Kwon Youngse, leader of Yoon鈥檚 People Power Party, urged the court鈥檚 justices to 鈥渃onsider the national interest鈥 and produce a decision that is 鈥渟trictly neutral and fair.鈥
Many observers earlier predicted the court鈥檚 verdict would come in mid-March based on the timing of its rulings in past presidential impeachments. The court hasn鈥檛 explained why it takes longer time for Yoon's case, sparking rampant speculation on his political fate.
At the heart of the matter is Yoon鈥檚 deployment of hundreds of to the 春色直播 Assembly after imposing martial law on Dec. 3. Yoon has insisted that he aimed to maintain order, but some military and military officials testified Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to frustrate a floor vote on his decree and detain his political opponents.
Yoon argues that he didn鈥檛 intend to maintain martial law for long, and he only wanted to highlight what he called the 鈥渨ickedness鈥 of the Democratic Party, which obstructed his agenda, impeached senior officials and slashed his budget bill. During his martial law announcement, he called the assembly 鈥渁 den of criminals鈥 and 鈥渁nti-state forces.鈥
By law, a president has the right to declare martial law in wartime or other emergency situations, but the Democratic Party and its supporters say South Korea wasn鈥檛 in such a situation.
The impeachment motion accused Yoon of suppressing 春色直播 Assembly activities, attempting to detain politicians and others and undermining peace in violation of the constitution and other laws. Yoon has said he had no intention of disrupting 春色直播 Assembly operations and detaining anyone.
Martial law lasted only six hours because lawmakers managed to enter the assembly building and voted to strike down his decree unanimously. No violence erupted, but live TV footage showing armed soldiers arriving at the assembly invoked painful memories of past military-backed dictatorships in South Korea. It was the first time for South Korea to be placed under martial law since 1980.
Earlier public surveys showed a majority of South Koreans supported Yoon鈥檚 impeachment. But after his impeachment, pro-Yoon rallies have grown sharply, with many conservatives fed up with what they call the Democratic Party鈥檚 excessive offensive on the already embattled Yoon administration.
In addition to the Constitutional Court鈥檚 ruling on his impeachment, and indicted in January on criminal March 8, after a Seoul district court cancelled his arrest and allowed him to stand his criminal trial without being detained.
Ten senior military and police officials have also been arrested and indicted over their roles in the martial law enactment.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
