The presidential office fell into stunned silence on Friday as the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, marking the second such decision in South Korean history.
The ruling, delivered at 11:22 a.m. by acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae, triggered visible shock and audible sighs throughout the presidential compound, according to local news outlets.
By 11:43 a.m., just 21 minutes after the ruling, the office had quietly lowered the presidential emblem — a dark blue presidential flag embroidered with two phoenixes and Korea’s national flower — that had flown over the Yongsan compound since Yoon’s inauguration on May 10, 2022.
The flag’s removal symbolized the formal end of Yoon’s presidency after 1,061 days in office.
Yoon is expected to vacate his official residence in Hannam-dong and return to his private home in Seocho-dong, though he may remain briefly to arrange his departure.
In tandem with the ruling, the Ministry of National Defense began removing and shredding Yoon’s portrait in military bases across the country, in accordance with regulations outlined in Article 324 of the Military Unit Management Guidelines.
The Foreign Ministry is also expected to instruct embassies and consulates to take down portraits of Yoon and inform host nations of the constitutional outcome and impending election mandated to be held within 60 days.
Yoon's removal comes 122 days after his controversial declaration of martial law and 111 days after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion. The process was the longest of any presidential impeachment to date, surpassing the 91-day deliberation of Park Geun-hye’s case in 2017 and the 63-day ruling on Roh Moo-hyun in 2004. Park's impeachment was upheld, while Roh's was overturned.
As the nation absorbs the impact of the presidential impeachment, uncertainty looms over the transition period, with key institutions and ministries adjusting swiftly to a continued leadership vacuum.
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
