South Korean Presidential Impeachment Overturned

 

 
 
South Korean Presidential Impeachment Overturned
 
The decision on Friday by the nine judges brings to an end 63 days of leadership
crisis in South Korea. The president of the Constitutional Court, Yun Young-chul,
announced the reinstatement of President Roh Moo-hyun in a national broadcast.
 
“The impeachment case is overruled because the court could not reach the
sufficient number of judges to pass the impeachment motion.”
 
The announcement sent up cheers and yellow balloons from Roh supporters
outside the court. Hundreds of riot police ringed the building but there were no
reports of violence.
 
Mr. Roh immediately returned to work, appearing at the presidential office building
on Friday morning. South Korean media say he will address the country on
Saturday.
 
President Roh was impeached by the opposition-dominated National Assembly on
March 12th for illegal electioneering, failing to stop corruption and mismanagement
of the world's 12th largest economy. The court ruled that election laws had been
violated but the infraction was too minor to warrant impeachment. The other two
charges were thrown out.