South Korean Constitutional Court upholds impeachment of Park Geun-hye

(Baonghean.vn) - Yonhap news agency reported that on March 10, the Constitutional Court of South Korea upheld the National Assembly's decision to impeach suspended President Park Geun-hye, despite her absence from court. Accordingly, Park was removed from office, thereby triggering a presidential election in the next few weeks.

The latest developments in South Korean politics further demonstrate the instability surrounding the situation on the inter-Korean peninsula, especially at a sensitive time like now, when North Korea recently launched four ballistic missiles.

Suspended President Park Geun-hye has been suspended since December last year. Photo: Reuters.

The verdict was read by the Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Korea and broadcast live nationwide, amid tight security on the streets surrounding the Constitutional Court headquarters in the capital Seoul.

This development made Park Geun-hye the first democratically elected leader to be removed from office.

Thus, South Korea will have 60 days from today to hold an election to elect a new President. During this time, Mr. Hwang Kyo-ahn still holds the power to run the country. Many people expect the election day to be May 9.

In light of the latest developments, President Donald Trump's administration will rush to complete the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system before the South Korean presidential election.

Immediately after the verdict, many Korean scholars said that now is the time for the people and politicians of this country to respect the court's verdict and move the country forward.

“The Constitutional Court’s decision is tantamount to demanding legal accountability for President Park’s failure to properly manage state affairs. Now the public needs to accept this verdict,” said Yang Seung-ham, professor emeritus at Yonsei University in Seoul.

Many protests broke out demanding Ms. Park's resignation. Photo: AP.

Meanwhile, Park Myoung-kyu, a sociology professor at Seoul National University, said: “We have gone through a process of resolving major conflicts and differences in a predictable manner through legal procedures stipulated in the Constitution. Now it is time to calm down and turn conflicts into policy debates.”

Many South Korean analysts said the court's decision showed that South Korea's democratic system is respected.

Ms. Park Geun-hye was impeached by the South Korean National Assembly on December 9, 2016, on charges of allowing her close friend, Ms. Choi Soon-sil, to interfere in state affairs despite having no official position in the government, and colluding with this person to take millions of dollars from many large Korean corporations.

In addition, Ms. Park was also accused of neglecting her duty to protect citizens during the 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300 people.

Lan Ha

(According to the Guardian)