South Korea: Nearly 6 out of 10 support Yoon’s impeachment over martial law declaration
Seoul, Feb 14 (IANS) Nearly 6 out of 10 South Koreans support impeaching South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration, a survey showed on Friday, as the Constitutional Court appeared to move closer to decide whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.
According to the survey conducted by Gallup on 1,004 adults aged over 18 from Tuesday to Thursday, 57 per cent said they supported Yoon’s impeachment, down 2 percentage points from a week earlier.
The respondents cited Yoon’s imposition of martial law, violation of the Constitution and insurrection as reasons for their assessment.
Thirty-eight per cent of the respondents said they were against Yoon’s impeachment.
In the same survey, 52 per cent said they trusted the Constitutional Court, down 5 percentage points from the previous month, while those who replied they do not trust the court rose 9 percentage points to 40 per cent during the cited period.
The pollster attributed the figures to the growing distrust in the Constitutional Court of those who oppose Yoon’s impeachment, mainly among supporters of the ruling People Power Party and the conservatives.
Yoon is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, south of the capital.
A Constitutional Court trial is also underway to determine whether to uphold or dismiss his impeachment by the National Assembly.
If upheld, Yoon will be removed from office, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days. If dismissed, he will be reinstated.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier on Thursday, the South Korean Constitutional Court said it will hold an additional hearing for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial next week.
The ninth formal hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday to hear arguments from Yoon’s side and the National Assembly’s side for two hours each.
The National Assembly had voted to impeach Yoon over his shocking, albeit short-lived, imposition of martial law on December 3. He was indicted on charges of leading an insurrection and had been arrested.
Yoon was also alleged to have sent military troops to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration and to have planned to arrest key political figures.
–IANS
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