Former prime minister Han Duck-soo assumed the role of acting president pending the Constitutional Court's decision on whether to remove Yoon from office. An earlier impeachment motion was put to a parliamentary vote on 7 December 2024 but failed because the number of attending legislators did not meet the quorum required for its passage, as members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote.
The motion marks the third impeachment of a South Korean president: Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in 2004 but acquitted by the Constitutional Court, while Park Geun-hye was impeached in 2016 and subsequently convicted and removed from office in 2017 after the Constitutional Court's confirmation.
Opinion polling on the Yoon Suk Yeol presidency throughout 2024 was increasingly negative. The declaration of martial law hardened these views, with many surveyed in South Korea believing Yoon should resign voluntarily or that he should be formally removed from office. Hundreds of thousands attended protests against government actions throughout December.
South Korea has been governed as a presidential democracy under the 1987 constitution, which provides for a strong independent executive. As a result, presidents can only be removed by a difficult impeachment process, rather than a simple vote of no confidence. Only one Korean president, Park Geun-hye, has been removed from office through impeachment, which occurred in 2017.[2]Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in 2004 on accusations of illegal electioneering, incompetence, and economic mismanagement. However, the Constitutional Court cleared him of two infractions and deemed the remaining charge not serious enough to warrant removal, allowing him to remain in office.[3]
Impeachment procedure
The procedure for impeachment is set out in the 10th Constitution of South Korea in 1987. Article 65, Clause 1, specifies that the National Assembly may impeach the president, prime minister, or other state officials if they violate the constitution or other laws while performing official duties.[4][5]
For an impeachment motion against a sitting president to pass, a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly–200 out of 300 members–must vote in favor.[6] Once passed, the individual is immediately suspended from their duties pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Korea. The scope of impeachment is limited to removal from public office, with no further penalties imposed through this process.[7]
According to the Constitutional Court Act passed in 1988, the Constitutional Court must render a decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the decision, the case is dismissed.[7] Formal removal of the president requires six of the nine justices voting in favor. Since two judges were recently appointed,[8] President Yoon Suk Yeol would be dismissed if six out of eight judges voted to dismiss him. Article 23 of the Constitutional Court Act requires at least seven justices for deliberation.[6]
If the National Assembly impeaches the president, the president is immediately suspended from office, with the prime minister assuming the role of acting president. In the event of the president's resignation or removal by the Constitutional Court, an early presidential election is required to be held within 60 days. During this interim period, the prime minister continues to serve as acting president until the election of a new president.[6]
In July 2024, an online petition started on the National Assembly's website calling for Yoon's impeachment gathered over a million signatures, with all petitions with over 50,000 signatures required under law to be reviewed by a parliamentary committee. The website crashed, with over 22,000 people concurrently waiting to access the website with an estimated wait time of 30 minutes.[9][10] In November 2024, over 3,000 professors and researchers at various universities signed a letter asking Yoon to resign.[11][12] One interviewer speculated that the letter had received the highest number of signatures from academics since protests during the Park Geun-hye administration.[11] On 28 November, 1,466 South Korean Catholic priests also called for Yoon to be impeached, issuing a statement titled "How could a person be like this" (어째서 사람이 이 모양인가), which claimed that he is a puppet of private interests who has no idea what he does or who he is and who had handed over the authority entrusted to him by the people to his wife.[13]
On 3 December, Yoon declared martial law in South Korea, stating that martial law was necessary to defend the country from anti-state forces. Military and police forces attempted to prevent legislators from entering the National Assembly Proceeding Hall, causing clashes between the security forces, protesters, and legislative aides. All 190 legislators who were present in the chamber unanimously voted to demand the lifting of martial law, forcing Yoon to lift martial law around 04:00 KST on 4 December.[2]
Following an emergency meeting of the PPP, its leader, Han Dong-hoon, initially announced the party's unanimous opposition to the impeachment efforts.[15][16][17] However, on 6 December, Han revealed that the PPP had received evidence indicating that Yoon had ordered Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung to arrest key politicians, including Han himself,[18] on "anti-state charges" during martial law and detain them in Gwacheon, prompting Han to call on Yoon to "suspend his duties soon" and warning that citizens could be in "great danger" if Yoon remained in office.[19][20][18]
Hours before the National Assembly convened on 7 December, Yoon apologized for declaring martial law, describing it as "desperate decision made by me, the president, as the final authority responsible for state affairs" and promising there would not be a second declaration of martial law.[21] He also pledged to delegate his political functions to the PPP.[22] DPK leader and main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called the apology "disappointing" and insisted on Yoon's resignation or impeachment.[23] He also criticized Yoon's power-sharing arrangement with the PPP as "destroying the constitutional order",[24] while DPK Floor Leader Park Chan-dae called the arrangement a "second coup".[25] Prior to the impeachment vote, a motion was discussed on whether to launch a special counsel investigation on Yoon's wife Kim Keon-hee but ultimately failed due to opposition by the PPP.[26]
Ahn Cheol-soo was the only PPP lawmaker to not leave the chamber before voting.
Kim Yea-ji[ko] was one of two PPP lawmakers who left the chamber but later returned.
Before voting began, all PPP lawmakers except one, Ahn Cheol-soo, left the voting chamber, meaning the bill would be unlikely to pass.[27] This came amid the possibility of PPP lawmakers deviating from the party's position through the secret balloting process.[28]Kim Yea-ji[ko] left but later returned;[29][30]Kim Sang-wook[ko] returned to vote but said he voted against impeachment.[31] Protesters attempted to block the exits of the National Assembly Proceeding Hall as PPP lawmakers left, calling the leaving lawmakers "cowards" and encouraging them to vote.[32]Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Kim Joon-hyung said that he expected voting to go on until 00:00 KST on 8 December at the latest;[33] the deadline to vote was 00:48 KST, three days after the motion was introduced.[34]
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik closed voting early at 21:20 KST and initially announced the start of counting shortly after, but then announced that votes would not be counted due to failing to reach the quorum, with only 195 members present of the 200 needed.[35][36]
Between motions
Following the first impeachment motion, PPP Leader Han Dong-hoon said that the PPP would continue to "push for the president's orderly retreat to minimize chaos",[37] while PPP Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho resigned, saying that he would take responsibility for "the third presidential impeachment vote in [South Korea's] constitutional history".[38] Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (Independent) said that he would "make all-out efforts to promptly stabilize the current situation".[39] The DPK said that it would continue to file impeachment motions against Yoon on a weekly basis.[40]
On 8 December, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was arrested by prosecutors on suspicion of committing insurrection by advising President Yoon to declare martial law and sending troops into the National Assembly to seize the legislature.[41][42] That same day, Han Dong-hoon said that the PPP had "effectively obtained (Yoon's) promise to step down" in exchange for the party blocking his impeachment.[43] A PPP special task force proposed that Yoon leave office in February or March 2025 and called for a snap presidential election to be held in April or May.[44]
On 10 December, the National Assembly passed a bill creating a permanent special counsel to investigate Yoon on charges of treason relating to his martial law declaration. The motion passed with 210 MPs, including 23 PPP members, in favor after the party allowed its members to vote according to their individual decision.[45] On 12 December, Yoon issued a statement vowing to "fight to the end", resisting the push for his resignation.[46] Following Yoon's statement, Han Dong-hoon called for Yoon's impeachment and convened an ethics committee to discuss Yoon's expulsion from the PPP.[47]
Second motion
Second motion to impeach Yoon
Choice
Votes
Y Yes
204 (68%)
N No
85 (28.3%)
Abstentions
3 (1%)
Invalid
8 (2.7%)
Not voting
0
Impeachment successful
The DPK filed its second motion to impeach Yoon on 12 December, with the vote scheduled for 14 December 2024.[48]
Prior to the vote, seven PPP lawmakers expressed their intention to participate,[49] including Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Yea-ji and Kim Sang-wook, who participated in the previous voting, as well as Bae Hyun-jin, who had not expressed her intentions in the next vote. On 10 December, Kim Sang-wook, who voted against the impeachment motion, announced that he would support impeachment and apologized for his previous decision.[50][51]
Before the vote began on 14 December, Han Dong-hoon announced that while his party opposed impeachment, it would engage in the vote, encouraging lawmakers to vote "according to their conscience and beliefs rather than following partisan interests".[52] Shortly after 16:00 KST, with six PPP members present, speaker Woo Won-shik announced the beginning of the vote, saying "I hope every one of you will participate in the vote".[53][54]BBC News described the second vote as "a stark contrast from last weekend", citing the lack of a PPP boycott.[55]
The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, with 204 of 300 lawmakers supporting impeachment.[58] Among those who voted in favor were 12 members of the PPP, exceeding the seven who had previously stated their intention to do so. Eighty-five lawmakers voted against impeachment, while three others abstained. Eight votes were classified as invalid.[59] Shortly afterwards, Yoon's suspension from the presidency went into effect at 19:24 KST,[60] after his office received a copy of the impeachment resolution.[61]
Aftermath
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting president after Yoon's impeachment; he would be impeached himself soon thereafter.
Following the passage of the second impeachment motion, Yoon addressed the nation, acknowledging his suspension while pledging to "do my best for the nation until the end".[62] Five members of the PPP's Supreme Council resigned to take responsibility for its approval, prompting the formation of an emergency response committee system to lead the party in accordance with its regulations.[63] On 16 December, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon also resigned, acknowledging that Yoon's impeachment was "painful" while stating that he did not regret supporting it.[64] The DPK said that the motion's success was "a historic victory for democracy" and pledged to continue investigating Yoon for declaring martial law.[65]
With Yoon's suspension as president, his prime minister, Han Duck-soo became acting president. Amid Han being asked by police for questioning in its investigation of martial law, DPK leader Lee Jae-myung said that the party would not move to impeach Han for the time being to avoid "confusion in state affairs". Lee also called for the formation of a consultative body between the National Assembly and the government to stabilize state affairs.[66] On 20 December, both the PPP and the DPK agreed to a proposal by Speaker Woo Won-shik creating a joint consultative body to discuss issues regarding national security and the economy.[67]
Aside from Yoon, several officials were either impeached or threatened with impeachment over their involvement in the declaration of martial law. These include Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun,[68] who resigned on 5 December,[69] and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, whose impeachment motion was filed by the DPK on 7 December.[70] Lee resigned the next day on 8 December.[71][72] On 12 December, the National Assembly passed impeachment motions against Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho.[73]
After Yoon's impeachment, the DPK announced that it would be taking legal action against Yoon's chief legal adviser Seok Dong-hyun after he denied at a press conference on 19 December that Yoon intended to have politicians arrested during martial law and downplayed the incursion of soldiers into the National Assembly.[74]
On 24 December, the DPK said that it would seek to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo for vetoing two special counsel bills that sought to investigate President Yoon and his wife Kim Keon-hee over his martial law declaration and charges of corruption.[75] The motion was filed on 26 December,[76] with the plenary vote scheduled on 27 December.[77] Prior to the vote on 27 December, Speaker Woo Won-shik determined that a simple majority would suffice to impeach Han, as opposed to a two-thirds majority to impeach a president. The impeachment motion passed, with 192 MPs voting in favor and Han accepting the outcome.[78]
Constitutional Court trial
The Constitutional Court of Korea has 180 days from the passage of the impeachment motion to review it. The court is currently composed of only eight justices, as three recently retired and one has not been replaced, the other two vacancies being filled by Choi Sang-mok.[79][80] It normally has nine members and is required by law to have seven to begin hearings.[81] In addition, two of the six justices have tenures ending within the mandated review period in April 2025, causing additional concerns over quorum.[82] Debates have arisen in the National Assembly on whether acting president Han Duck-soo is entitled to fill the vacant seats, with the DPK supporting it on the grounds that the president only serves to confirm parliamentary nominees[83] and the PPP opposing it on the grounds that an acting president can only appoint justices only in the event of a presidential vacancy, not a suspension of duties.[84] Yoon's impeachment became the eighth impeachment case in 2024 alone received by the court–the highest number in a single year in South Korean history.[85]
The impeachment motion was submitted to the court on 14 December 2024, and proceedings began on 16 December,[86] with the court calling the case a "top priority".[87] On 16 December 2024, the court announced that trial would proceed with six justices.[88] The identity of the presiding justice, typically undisclosed, was revealed to be Justice Jeong Hyeong-sik, a Yoon appointee, due to the gravity of the case.[79][89] Former Korea Communications Commission chair Kim Hong-il was announced as the head of Yoon's legal defense team, while National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Jung Chung-rae will serve as the impeachment prosecutor.[90] On 26 December, the National Assembly approved a motion to fill the three vacancies in the Constitutional Court, with the PPP not participating in the confirmation vote. However, Acting President Han Duck-soo refused to appoint the nominees, citing the need for a bipartisan consensus. In response, the DPK filed an impeachment motion against Han that same day,[91] which passed in the plenary vote on 27 December, resulting in Han's duty as acting president being suspended.[78] On 31 December, acting president Choi Sang-mok appointed Jeong Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang to the Constitutional Court as part of efforts to fill up the vacancies.[92]
The first preparatory hearing for the case was held 27 December 2024, with the next hearing occurring on 3 January 2025. The National Assembly was represented in the trial by DPK lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, who is the chair of the assembly's legislation and judiciary committee.[93] Yoon's defense team comprised Bae Bo-yoon, a former Constitutional Court scholar and spokesperson during the impeachment trial of former president Park Geun-hye; Yun Gap-geun, former head of the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office; Bae Jin-han, a former judge and Yoon's classmate at Seoul National University School of Law; and Kim Hong-il, former head of the Korea Communications Commission.[94] Oral arguments for the trial began on 14 January, with another session on 16 January in the event that Yoon fails to appear.[95] A total of five sessions would be held until 4 February, including on 21 and 23 January.[96] On 12 January, Yoon's lawyer said that his client would not attend the 14 January hearing, citing safety concerns[97] and the possibility of him being apprehended by investigators seeking to execute an arrest warrant against him on his way to court.[98] On 13 January, Yoon's lawyers requested the exclusion of Justice Jeong Gye-seon from hearing the case, accusing her of progressive leanings and showing her "prediction" for the trials during her confirmation by the National Assembly in December 2024.[99] It also called for the first day of the trial to be moved from 14 January, saying that the impeachment of acting president Han Duck-soo needed to be heard first.[100]
During the 3 January hearing, Yoon's defense team defended the declaration of martial law as a "national emergency situation" and said that its brief duration "did not restrict the people's basic rights". It also said Yoon had immunity from prosecution, citing the Supreme Court of the United States's 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States.[101] They also alleged media bias against Yoon but were reprimanded by Justice Cheong Hyung-sik. Meanwhile, the prosecution accused defense lawyers of distorting the nature of the trial and insulting the justices.[102]
The 14 January hearing lasted four minutes before being adjourned due to Yoon's absence.[103] During the session, the court also dismissed the defense's request to exclude Justice Jeong Gye-son from hearing the case. It also rejected Yoon's objection to the designated dates for hearings, saying the scheduling followed laws and regulations governing the Constitutional Court, not a criminal court.[80] The impeachment team called as its witnesses Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service; Cho Ji-ho, commissioner of the National Police Agency; Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command; Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defense Command; and Yeo In-hyung, chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command.[104]
At the 16 January hearing, the court added additional hearing dates scheduled for 6, 11 and 13 February. It also called for additional witnesses, including former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and police commissioner Cho Ji-ho, to testify. The court decided to admit surveillance footage from the National Assembly, the National Election Commission, and the official residence of the National Assembly speaker as evidence and announced plans to fact-check Yoon's claims of electoral fraud. During the hearing, Yoon's defense team formally presented its position on the issues, while the plaintiff outlined its arguments for impeachment. Yoon did not attend the hearing in person.[105] His request to reschedule the hearing due to his arrest the previous day was rejected by the court.[106]
In the 21 January hearing, Yoon made his first physical appearance for his impeachment. He denied allegations that he had ordered the military to forcibly remove lawmakers from the National Assembly. Yoon stated that the soldiers deployed to the legislature were not intended to suspend the National Assembly or obstruct its efforts to lift martial law, acknowledging that such actions would have caused a crisis.[107]
On 22 January, acting president Choi Sang-mok ordered a 24-hour police presence at the Constitutional Court and other courts nationwide following the 2025 Seoul Western District Court riot and other incidents of political tension related to Yoon's impeachment.[108]
On 23 January, Yoon appeared at the impeachment trial again, with Kim Yong-hyun present as a witness.[109] Kim denied allegations that Yoon had ordered the military to storm the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from convening and passing a resolution nullifying martial law.[110] However, he admitted to recommending declaring martial law to Yoon and to writing a note to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, instructing the establishment of an emergency legislative body during martial law.[111] Yoon defended his declaration of martial law, asserting that it did not fail but acknowledging that it ended "sooner than expected".[112]
Under the constitution, if the impeachment is upheld, the president is permanently removed from office and a new presidential election must be held within 60 days of removal. If the court takes the full 180 days to decide and removes Yoon from office, a new election will take place by 11 August 2025 at the latest.
Withdrawal of insurrection charge
On 3 January, the National Assembly petitioners removed insurrection charges from the grounds for impeachment to focus on constitutional violations related to the martial law declaration rather than pursuing criminal charges, in order to expedite the case. Park Chan-un, a law professor at Hanyang University, called this a logical move, as the impeachment trial is "fundamentally a 'disciplinary trial' focused on whether Yoon violated the constitution". The PPP criticized the move, claiming "the move exposed legal flaws in the impeachment motion and thus the motion should be nullified". However, the DPK defended the revision, asserting that since the impeachment trial is not a criminal proceeding, it should focus on violations of the constitution and that "the revision was necessary to expedite court proceedings".[113]
Popular reactions
While the session for the first impeachment motion was underway, the crowd outside the National Assembly demanding Yoon's removal and insisting that PPP lawmakers participate in the impeachment vote was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands,[114] with some attempting to scale the walls and police barricades.[115] On 5 December, phone numbers of PPP lawmakers were released online, leading to a wave of text messages from the public urging them to support Yoon's impeachment, which continued after the impeachment motion failed. One MP, Shin Sung-bum, said that he had received 10,501 messages by 9 December.[116] After the motion failed, several PPP lawmakers' offices were vandalized, while others received funeral wreaths with messages such as "insurrection accomplices" written.[117] A box cutter was also found at the residence of MP Kim Jae-sub. A petition filed at the National Assembly website calling for the PPP's dissolution garnered more than 171,000 signatures,[118] exceeding the 50,000 needed to have the proposal submitted to the relevant standing committee.[119]
During the session for the second impeachment motion, at least 208,000 people gathered near the National Assembly in support of impeachment. Demonstrations in support of Yoon's impeachment were also held in cities nationwide, with 10,000 attending rallies in Jeonju and 30,000 others participating in Daegu.[120] At the same time, a mass rally of around 40,000 people in support of Yoon was held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.[121] Trains running on Line 9 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway avoided stopping at the National Assembly station to prevent congestion-related accidents.[122] On 13 December, some 50 Korean Americans demonstrated outside the White House in Washington, D.C. calling for Yoon's impeachment.[122]
The Korea Times drew comparisons between Yoon's impeachment and that of President Park Geun-hye in 2017, suggesting Yoon survived the first impeachment attempt due to PPP fears that it would suffer a crushing defeat in any ensuing snap presidential election, similar to what happened to the Saenuri Party seven years earlier after Park was removed from the presidency.[124]Multiple opinion polls have shown DPK and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung maintaining a strong lead in any prospective matchup since early 2024, with the margin widening further following the martial law declaration.
Opinion polling carried out by Realmeter on 4 December 2024 found that 73.6% of respondents supported Yoon's impeachment while 24% opposed it. It also found that 70% believed that Yoon's actions constituted treason while 25% believed otherwise.[126] Another Realmeter poll released on 12 December found 74.8% of respondents supported either Yoon's immediate resignation or impeachment, while 16.2% supported the PPP's proposal of Yoon's orderly resignation.[125]
A Gallup poll released on 13 December found that Yoon's impeachment was supported by 75% of respondents and opposed by 21%. It also found that 27% of PPP supporters favored impeachment, compared to 66% opposed. Among DPK supporters, 97% supported impeachment, while 3% opposed.[127] The same poll also found Speaker Woo Won-shik emerging as the most trusted politician in South Korea for his actions during martial law and the impeachment, with a rating of 56%.[128]
After Yoon's suspension, a Realmeter poll on 19 December found that 52.6% of respondents did not regard the PPP as the ruling party, compared to 41.6% who regarded it as such. Conversely, 59.4% considered the DPK as the ruling party while 39.1% did not.[129]
On 31 December, a poll released by The Korea Times and Hankook Research and conducted from 26 to 27 December found 69% of respondents supported the upholding of Yoon's impeachment while 28% stated otherwise. It also found that support for the measure was highest among those aged 40 to 49 (90%), followed by people in their 20s (82%), 30s (77%) and 50s (70%). It also found opposition to Yoon's impeachment to be high among 56% of respondents in their 70s and 45% of those in their 60s. Support for impeachment was also expressed by 93% of those identifying as liberals, 78% among centrists and 34% among conservatives.[130] In terms of party affiliation, support for impeachment was expressed by 98% of DPK supporters and 100% of Rebuilding Korea Party supporters, while 85% of PPP supporters believed otherwise.[131] Polling by the same entities also found that 65% of respondents believed that it was necessary for all nine seats in the Constitutional Court to be filled in order hear Yoon's impeachment trial, while 31% believed otherwise.[82]
The president of the Republic of Korea, also known as the president of Korea, is both the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president is directly elected by the citizens of the Republic of Korea and pledges to execute the duties of their office, chief among others "to defend the State, pursue peaceful unification of the homeland." The president leads the State Council, is the chief of the executive branch of the national government and the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.
The Constitutional Court of Korea (Korean: 헌법재판소) is one of the highest courts – along with the Supreme Court – in South Korea's judiciary that exercises constitutional review, seated in Jongno, Seoul. The South Korean constitution vests judicial power in courts composed of judges, which establishes the ordinary-court system, but also separates an independent constitutional court and grants it exclusive jurisdiction over matters of constitutionality. Specifically, Chapter VI Article 111 Clause 1 of the South Korean Constitution specifies the following cases to be exclusively reviewed by the Constitutional Court:
Constitutionality of a law upon the request of the courts;
Impeachment;
Dissolution of a political party;
Competence disputes between State agencies, between State agencies and local governments, and between local governments; and
Constitutional complaints as prescribed by [the Constitutional Court] Act.
Han Duck-soo is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician who served as acting president of South Korea from 14 to 27 December 2024 and the 48th prime minister of South Korea from 2022. Since 27 December 2024, Han has been suspended from his presidential and prime ministerial powers following his impeachment by the National Assembly of Korea.
Woo Won-shik is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the 22nd National Assembly of South Korea since June 2024. He was a Member of the National Assembly for Nowon, Seoul from 2004 to 2008 and returned to office in 2012. He was a member of Democratic Party of Korea prior to his election as speaker in 2024. As speaker, he presided over the impeachments of President Yoon Suk-yeol and Acting President Han Duck-soo.
On 9 December 2016, Park Geun-hye, the president of South Korea, was impeached as the culmination of a political scandal involving interventions to the presidency from her aide, Choi Soon-sil. 234 members of the 300-member National Assembly voted to impeach and temporarily suspend Park's presidential powers and duties. This exceeded the required two-thirds threshold in the National Assembly and, although the vote was by secret ballot, the results indicated that more than half of the 128 lawmakers in Park's party Saenuri had supported her impeachment. Thus, Hwang Kyo-ahn, then Prime Minister of South Korea, became acting president while the Constitutional Court of Korea was due to determine whether to accept the impeachment. The court upheld the impeachment in a unanimous 8–0 decision on 10 March 2017, removing Park from office. The regularly scheduled presidential election was advanced to 9 May 2017, and Moon Jae-in, former leader of the Democratic Party, who Park had narrowly defeated in the 2012 presidential election, was elected as Park's permanent successor.
Kim Ou-joon is a South Korean journalist. He is well known for the host of a political podcast. He was the original creator of Naneun Ggomsuda and currently runs Ddanzi Ilbo's DAS Boeida and Traffic Broadcasting System's News Factory.
Yoon Suk Yeol is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who has been the 13th president of South Korea since 2022. Following his impeachment, his powers are currently suspended.
The People Power Party, formerly known as the United Future Party, is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It controls the South Korean presidency and is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival, the Democratic Party, make up the two largest political parties in South Korea.
Han Dong-hoon is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who served as the 69th Minister of Justice from May 2022 to December 2023 under the cabinet of Yoon Suk Yeol. He was a leader of People Power Party from July to December 2024. Before joining politics, Han played a key role as an anti-corruption prosecutor alongside Yoon Suk Yeol in convicting former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, Samsung executive Lee Jae-yong, and family members of former minister of justice Cho Kuk. Han served as a principal deputy when Yoon held senior positions in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of Korea.
Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 10 April 2024. All 300 members of the National Assembly were elected, 254 from first-past-the-post constituencies and 46 from proportional party lists. The two largest parties, the liberal Democratic Party and the conservative People Power Party, once again set up satellite parties to take advantage of the electoral system.
Lee Sang-min is a South Korean lawyer and a former judge. From 2022 to 2024, he served as the Minister of the Interior and Safety in the Cabinet of President Yoon Suk-yeol. He resigned in the aftermath of the 2024 South Korean martial law incident.
The following lists events in the year 2024 in South Korea.
Choi Sang-mok is a South Korean politician who has served as the acting president and acting prime minister of South Korea since 27 December 2024 following the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Duck-soo. He has also served as the deputy prime minister and minister of Economy and Finance since December 2023.
The next South Korean presidential election was originally scheduled for 2027. However, following the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on 14 December 2024, an early election in 2025 is possible. According to the South Korean constitution, if President Yoon Suk Yeol resigns or is removed from office by the Constitutional Court, a snap presidential election must be held within 60 days.
The following lists events in the year 2025 in South Korea.
On 3 December 2024, at 22:27 Korea Standard Time (KST), Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, declared martial law during a televised address. In his declaration, Yoon accused the Democratic Party (DPK), which has a majority in the National Assembly, of conducting "anti-state activities" and collaborating with "North Korean communists" to destroy the country, thereby creating a "legislative dictatorship". The order prohibited political activities, including gatherings of the National Assembly and local legislatures, and suspended the free press. Separately, Yoon reportedly ordered the arrest of various political opponents, including the leaders of the DPK and his own People Power Party. This event was widely characterized by Korean politicians and news organizations, both international and domestic, as an attempted self-coup.
On 27 December 2024, South Korean Prime Minister and acting president Han Duck-soo was impeached. The impeachment occurred 10 days after President Yoon Suk Yeol had been impeached as a result of his brief enactment of martial law, making Han acting president.
Jeong Hyeong-sik, also romanized as Cheong Hyungsik, is a South Korean jurist who serves as a justice of the Constitutional Court of South Korea. He was nominated by President Yoon Suk Yeol on November 16, 2023, and officially appointed to the court on December 18, 2023.
Beginning on 3 January 2025, South Korean authorities attempted to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea. Yoon had confined himself at his official presidential residence since his impeachment on 14 December 2024. The arrest warrant, granted on 31 December 2024 by the Seoul Western District Court, stemmed from investigations into Yoon's martial law declaration on 3 December 2024, as well as his refusal to attend any of the three summons demanded by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). On 15 January 2025, after an infiltration of his residence, Yoon handed himself over to the CIO, ending the arrest effort.
↑ 김, 휘란 (14 November 2024). '권력 사유화 윤석열 퇴진' 고려대·국민대 교수들도 시국선언['Privatizing Power, Yoon Seok-yeol, Step Down' Professors from Korea University and Kookmin University Also Declare Current Affairs]. JTBC (in Korean). Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
↑ '윤석열, 사람이 어째서 그 모양인가'..천주교 사제 1466명 시국선언['Yoon Seok-yeol, why is he like that?' 1,466 Catholic priests declare their stance on the current situation]. MBC (in Korean). 28 November 2024. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
1 2 [리얼미터] 尹 대통령 '비상계엄' 선포 사태 ① '즉시 탄핵' 74.8%, ② 계엄 트라우마 '경험 있다' 66.2%[[Realmeter] President Yoon's declaration of 'martial law' ① 'Immediate impeachment' 74.8%, ② 'Experienced' martial law trauma 66.2%]. Realmeter (in Korean). 12 December 2024. Archived from the original on 12 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
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