Popular Support for Yoon Suk-yeol Grows as Court Weighs Impeachment

On March 1, South Korea saw its largest-ever protest against President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment. An estimated 400,000 supporters flooded the streets from Seoul's iconic Gwanghwamun Square to the National Assembly building in Yeouido.

Meanwhile, recent polls indicate President Yoon's approval rating is hovering around 50%.

Following his December 3 emergency martial law declaration, President Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly and faced a grueling months-long trial at the Constitutional Court.

If at least six of the eight justices uphold the impeachment, the chief executive will be permanently removed from office. A verdict is expected in the coming days.

President Yoon simultaneously faces a criminal trial on charges of leading an insurrection ー an offense that could result in a life sentence or even the death penalty if convicted.

Was the December 3 martial law declaration justified? What will be the key battlegrounds of the impeachment trial? Can Yoon survive his political reckoning? In an interview with JAPAN Forward, Seok Dong-hyun, a South Korean attorney and member of Yoon's legal team, shares his insights.

*President Yoon impeachment trial: Judges of the Constitutional Court of Korea hear arguments by senior prosecutors and the chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection. (©Yonhap News Agency via Kyodo)*

Insights on the Trial

Was the December 3 martial law declaration justified?

The proclamation of emergency martial law is a constitutional exercise of the president's emergency powers. It is also classified as a "political act" in the Constitutional Textbook and, therefore, not subject to judicial review.

However, given that martial law had not been declared in 45 years — since the 1979 assassination of President Park Chung-hee — many were initially shocked and critical of President Yoon's decision. Over time, however, growing recognition of its necessity has led to increasing public support.

What has led to the public's perception shift?

First, the public has grown increasingly aware of the opposition coalition's legislative overreach. From the outset of Yoon's presidency, the Democratic Party-led opposition, which holds a parliamentary majority, has relentlessly worked to obstruct the executive and judicial branches. Since Yoon's inauguration, they have filed 29 impeachment motions against prosecutors, government officials, and cabinet ministers to paralyze the administration.

*Attorney Seok speaks in front of the Constitutional Court in March. (©Presidential Public Defender Team)*

The opposition coalition has also wielded its budgetary power to block President Yoon's hallmark initiatives. One of the most striking examples is the nuclear industry. Yoon's administration revitalized the sector after it was virtually decimated under his predecessor, aggressively pushing to expand South Korea's cutting-edge nuclear technology. However, funding for nuclear research and development was unilaterally slashed in the parliament.

A similar pattern emerged in national security. In response to the growing North Korean threat, President Yoon sought to expand South Korea's ballistic missile defense system and reconnaissance satellite capabilities ー only to have the opposition indiscriminately gut the related budgets.

Third, martial law thrust electoral fraud and the deep-rooted dysfunction of the National Election Commission (NEC) into the national spotlight. By its admission, the Commission has long been a breeding ground for irregularities and nepotism, operating more like a family-run enterprise than an impartial institution.

In a historic first, the National Audit Office launched a full-scale investigation into the NEC in April 2024, exposing 1,200 cases of recruitment irregularities. More and more South Koreans now demand a thorough investigation of NEC and its handling of past elections.

President Yoon's impeachment trial ended on February 25. What are your thoughts?

From the outset, we, the legal team, recognized that several justices leaned heavily to the left. At least four seem firmly committed to removing the president from office, regardless of the arguments presented. Our task, therefore, has not been to convince the entire bench but to ensure that the remaining four justices do not join their ranks.

*South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in the final argument at his impeachment trial in Seoul on February 25. (©Constitutional Court of South Korea via Yonhap)*

Do you think the president got a fair trial?

Throughout the 11 trial sessions, the court has unfortunately displayed bias against the defendant, occasionally violating its own procedural rules.

Let's take a few examples. Article 32 of the Constitutional Court Act prohibits the court from requesting records from investigative agencies related to an ongoing trial or investigation. Yet, the judges disregarded this provision, obtaining investigative records from the prosecutor's office, the police, and other institutions.

There is a more serious problem. Despite witness testimony in the Constitutional Court contradicting their earlier statements to prosecutors, the judges ruled to admit the prosecution's records as evidence. Such a decision defies fundamental legal principles of prioritizing court testimony over prosecutorial statements.

The Constitutional Court has also disregarded the Criminal Procedure Act by unilaterally dictating trial dates and procedures. Consequently, President Yoon's impeachment trial was pushed through at an unprecedented speed — faster than former President Park Geun-hye's.

Yoon's trial lasted just 73 days with 11 sessions, during which the court accepted only 9 of the 34 witnesses requested by the defense. In contrast, Park's impeachment trial spanned 91 days over 17 sessions before a verdict was reached.

On Changes to the Charges Against Yoon

The Court also dropped insurrection charges, correct?

Yes, and that is equally troubling. During the second preliminary hearing on January 3, those pushing for impeachment unilaterally removed the insurrection charges from the articles of impeachment.

The word "insurrection" appears 29 times in the impeachment motion and accounts for nearly 80% of the charges. However, perhaps realizing that the December 3 martial law declaration did not meet the legal definition of insurrection under South Korea's criminal code, the impeachment-seekers abruptly shifted their argument. They requested that the impeachment trial focus solely on alleged constitutional violations instead. Without meaningful scrutiny, the Constitutional Court accepted this revision.

This is a blatant violation of a fundamental legal principle. An impeachment motion must remain consistent in substance. If any material change is made to the facts of the case, the motion should either be rejected or at the very least sent back to the National Assembly for a re-vote.

Moreover, the court's actions nullified the impeachment motion passed on December 14, 2024. The bill — which narrowly passed with 12 ruling party members siding with the opposition — was approved based on allegations of insurrection. Some of these lawmakers have since stated that they would not have voted in favor had insurrection not been included in the charges.

Given these troubling realities, it's hard to imagine the public accepting the court's ruling with ease.

*Dozens of individuals shave their heads in protest against President Yoon's impeachment. (©Presidential Public Defender Team)*

Can President Yoon survive this political upheaval?

On February 11, President Yoon issued a statement saying "South Koreans will prevail against the impeachment maneuver because the people are defending a free Republic of Korea."

True to his words, an expanding portion of the public is coming to terms with the truth. That is, the impeachment was a political move engineered by the opposition coalition, further exacerbated by the unlawful actions of the courts and investigative agencies.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets every week, demanding the nullification of President Yoon's impeachment. The president's approval rating has soared to 50%, reflecting the growing public support for his reinstatement.

One after another, people are sharing that they have been "enlightened" through this series of events. The December 3 martial law was not an act of self-coup or insurrection. Rather, it served as an awakening, alerting South Korea to the impending crisis looming over the nation.