South Korea’s National Assembly has impeached a president for the second time in almost 7 years. (Background on that can be found in our prior missive.) South Korean President Yoon, former Prosecutor General, has found himself in a legally precarious position. He is facing 2 major investigations. The case focused on his impeachment from office will be heard by the constitutional court starting December 27th. The court has impeach presidents before, this is not uncharted territory. However, this is the first time ⅓ of the bench is vacant. Yoon’s martial law debacle has put the South Korean political system on full display, the good and the bad. The international community has heralded South Korea as one of the strongest democracies in Asia, especially after seeing how civil society reacted to the martial law declaration. However, Yoon’s declaration has exposed a critical flaw in South Korea’s democratic system – judicial appointments.
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