South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was officially removed from power on April 4 after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment. Millions of Koreans participated in demonstrations in Seoul to welcome and celebrate the decision.

South Korea’s parliament impeached Yoon on December 14, 2024, following his martial law declaration on December 3, 2024. The declaration was reversed six hours later by a majority of the country’s lawmakers.

Yoon justified the sudden imposition of martial law by the alleged need to “suppress communist forces” from North Korea and counter “local enemies” which he claimed were pro-North Korea.

According to the court, in declaring martial law, Yoon “abandoned his responsibility to protect the constitution and gravely betrayed the trust of the sovereign citizens of the Republic of Korea.”

With his removal from the presidency, Yoon may now face additional criminal charges. It will be recalled that Yoon was arrested in January while still in office for insurrection charges, one of only two charges that can be filed against a sitting president in South Korea. The other is treason.

With Yoon’s removal, South Korea needs to hold a special election within 60 days.

“Though delayed, this is the expected outcome. This is a victory of citizens who fought persistently for 123 days following Yoon Suk Yeol insurrection,” the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) stated. The group emphasized that those days involved confrontations with far-right fascist forces in South Korea.

The group stated that even with Yoon’s ouster, democratic forces must continue to struggle against far-right forces in the People Power Party, media, courts, prosecution service, government institutions, and religious organizations. “Without eliminating these elements, the safe and equal society we envision will stop at merely removing Yoon,” the group warned.

They stressed that “the people’s struggle is not over.” The KCTU is pushing for Korean citizens to advance comprehensive social reform ensuring public services, workers’ right to unionize, and citizens’ enjoyment of basic political rights and equitable treatment.

US-based Korean organization Nodutdol for Korean Community Development supports KCTU’s call. The group stated this social change must target the roots of oppression in South Korea: “the capitalist system that exploits the majority, and the US military occupation that defends it.”

“The path to liberation is long, but history has shown time and again that unity of organized and conscious working people is an unstoppable force,” the group added.