The usually quiet streets outside South Korea’s constitutional court in Seoul are now a political ground zero for a decision that will determine the country’s future.
Months after Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law and triggered South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades, the court will on Friday decide whether to uphold the suspended president’s impeachment or return him to office.
The name of the neighbourhood in which the court lies is Anguk, which means “peaceful country”, an irony that will not be lost on South Koreans as they await the court ruling on the vote by MPs to impeach Yoon after his ill-fated attempt in December to suspend democracy.
More than 14,000 police officers – more than a tenth of the country’s entire force – will be mobilised in Seoul when the verdict is delivered on Friday. A 100-metre radius “vacuum state” has been imposed outside the court building to prevent demonstrations. More police buses arrived ahead of the verdict, bringing traffic to a near-standstill. Ancient palaces in the neighbourhood will close on Friday, depriving people of the chance to get a close-up view of their popular spring blossoms.
The security clampdown will extend well beyond barricades. Petrol stations near the court will close to prevent arson attacks, and rooftop access to high-rise buildings will be restricted to prevent people from jumping or throwing objects. Authorities are also planning to ban the release of firearms usually used to kill wild animals, with proposals to track licensed gun owners via GPS on the day of the ruling. Anguk station will close, and subway station lockers sealed to prevent bomb threats.
A no-fly zone has been imposed over the court, with police deploying signal jammers against unauthorised drones. Eleven schools will close, and vendors have been told to close and remove items, such as flower pots, that could be used as weapons.
If Yoon survives the ruling, he will have pulled off an extraordinary political comeback. If the decision goes against him, he will join a growing list of disgraced South Korean leaders who challenged the country’s democratic institutions.
In December last year, Yoon deployed troops to the national assembly, claiming he needed to counter “anti-state forces” and investigate alleged election fraud. The military deployment lasted only hours before parliament voted to overturn the declaration, seeing his actions as a power grab.
Yoon is also fighting for survival in a separate criminal trial in which he is accused of instigating an insurrection – a crime that carries a life sentence or even the death penalty, though South Korea has not conducted an execution since 1997.
Weeks of uncertainty have been marked by huge and occasionally violent protests by Yoon’s supporters and opponents, and standoffs between his security detail and government authorities.
Last weekend hundreds of thousands of people rallied for and against Yoon in central Seoul, despite the cold weather.
“The people are overwhelmed with fatigue and frustration as … the ongoing crises remain unresolved,” Lee Han-sol, an anti-Yoon demonstrator, said. “The delays have led to a growing sense of scepticism.”
His supporters, some of whom held up Trump-inspired banners reading “Make Korea Great Again,” insisted the impeachment trial was unlawful. “The constitutional court won’t be able to ignore us,” said Lee Hye-sook, 58. “Look at us, there are so many of us here.”
With the constitutional court’s verdict on the impeachment looming, authorities are making every effort to prevent further unrest.
An unprecedented security operation is being put in place to prevent a repeat of January’s violent storming of a Seoul courthouse by Yoon supporters that left dozens of police officers injured. And officials have not forgotten the tumult of March 2017, when four protesters died on the day the same court finalised former president Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.
The court is already partially barricaded, while those declaring loyalty to Yoon, a former prosecutor who has flirted with rightwing populism and conspiracy theories since taking office in 2022, are observing a round-the-clock vigil outside.
“We are setting up plans considering the worst-case scenarios,” said Lee Ho-young, acting police chief, as authorities declared the highest-level emergency status for the day of the ruling.
To formally remove Yoon from office, at least six of the court’s eight justices have to approve the impeachment motion passed by MPs in mid-December. That would trigger a presidential election that must be held within 60 days. If they do not, Yoon’s presidential powers will be immediately restored.
Now into its fifth week of deliberations, the court has itself become a target of criticism that it was moving too slowly. The same court’s decision to remove Park came 11 days after the final hearings in her impeachment trial.
“The country and the people are at breaking point,” said Kim Min-seok, an opposition Democratic party MP, said last month. “We wait for the court’s responsible decision. Further delay is abnormal and irresponsible.”
Chung Sung-il, a 72-year-old anti-Yoon protester, said he expected the court to dismiss Yoon “100%”, adding: “If he is reinstated, so many dangerous things can happen.”
The acting president, Han Duck-soo, whose impeachment was overturned by the constitutional court late last month, called on South Koreans to respect the court’s ruling on Yoon.
“Whatever decision is made, we must calmly and coolly accept the result in accordance with the principles of the rule of law,” Han said on Wednesday.
The tense atmosphere has been stoked by inflammatory rhetoric from Yoon’s allies. Jeon Kwang-hoon, a far-right pastor, told his followers: “If the constitutional court does something different [upholds impeachment], we will activate the people’s right to resist and sweep them away with one sword.”
