South Korea “A Breaking Point” in view of the judgment on the impeachment of President Yoon | Asia Pacific

The roads usually quiet outside the Constitutional Court of South Korea in Soul are now a zero political for a decision that will determine the future of the country.

Months later Yoon Suk Yeol MARCIAL LAW SET And he triggered the worst political crisis of South Korea for decades, the Court will decide on Friday whether to support the impeachment of the suspended president or report it in office.

The name of the neighborhood where the Court is located is Anguk, which means “peaceful country”, an irony that will not be lost on the South Koreans while waiting for the court sentence on the votes of parliamentarians for Empathying Yoon after his unfortunate attempt in December to suspend democracy.

More than 14,000 police officers – more than one tenth of the entire force of the country – will be mobilized in Seoul when the verdict is delivered on Friday. A ray of 100 meters “State of the Void” was imposed outside the Court building to prevent demonstrations. Other police buses arrived in front of the verdict, bringing traffic to a stand-store. The ancient buildings of the neighborhood will close on Friday, depriving people of the possibility of having a close view of their famous spring flowers.

The safety terminal will extend well beyond the barricades. The petrol stations near the field will close to prevent incendiary attacks and access on the roof to skyscraper buildings will be limited to preventing people from jumping or launching objects. The authorities are also planning to ban the release of firearms usually used to kill wild animals, with proposals to keep track of the owners of weapons authorized through GPS on the day of the sentence. The Anguk station will close and the cabinets of the sealed metro station to prevent bomb threats.

An area without flight has been set on the field, with the police who deploy signal jammer against unauthorized drones. Eleven schools will close and sellers have been told to close and remove objects, such as flowers of flowers, which could be used as weapons.

If Yoon survives the sentence, it will have obtained an extraordinary political return. If the decision goes against him, he will join a growing list of dishonored South Korean leaders who have challenged the country’s democratic institutions.

In December last year, Yoon lined up troops at the National Assembly, claiming that it was to counter “anti-state forces” and investigate alleged electoral fraud. The military lift lasted only a few hours before the Parliament voted to overturn the declaration, seeing its actions as a power socket.

Yoon is also fighting for survival in a separate criminal trial In which he is accused of instigating an insurrection – a crime that involves life imprisonment or even the death penalty, although South Korea has not conducted a execution since 1997.

Weeks of uncertainty have been marked by enormous and occasionally violent protests By the supporters and opponents of Yoon and stall between its security details and government authorities.

Last weekend hundreds of thousands of people gathered in favor and against Yoon in the center of Seoul, despite the cold.

“People are overwhelmed by fatigue and frustration since … the ongoing crises remain unresolved,” said Lee Han-Sol, an anti-Yoon manifestator. “The delays led to a growing sense of skepticism.”

His supporters, some of whom have made the banners inspired by Trump who read “make Korea again”, insisted on the fact that the process of impeachment was illegal. “The Constitutional Court will not be able to ignore us,” said Lee Hye-Sook, 58 years old. “Look at us, there are so many of us here.”

With the Constitutional Court verdict on the inclusion of impeachment, the authorities are making every effort to prevent further disorders.

An unprecedented security operation is implemented to prevent a January repetition Violent storm of a Soul court by the supporters of Yoon who left dozens of police officers injured. And officials did not forget the tumult of March 2017, when four demonstrators died on the day when the same court concluded the impeachment of the former president Park Geun-Hye.

The Court is already partially barricaded, while those who declare loyalty to Yoon, an ex prosecutor who have flirted with the right populism and the conspiracy theories since they entered in office in 2022, are observing a wake of top of the block outside.

“We are preparing plans considering the worst scenarios,” said Lee Ho-Young, chief of police, while the authorities have declared the high-level emergency state for the day of the sentence.

To formally remove Yoon from the Office, at least six of the eight court judges must approve the Motion of Impeachment approved by parliamentarians in mid -December. This would trigger a presidential election that must be kept within 60 days. Otherwise, Yoon’s presidential powers will be immediately restored.

Arriving at his fifth week of deliberations, the Court has become a target of criticism on the fact that he moved too slowly. The same decision of the Court to remove the park came 11 days after the final auditions in its process to the impeachment.

“The country and the people are at the breaking point,” said Kim Min-Seok, a deputy of the opposition Democratic Party, last month. “We wait for the responsible decision of the Court. Further delays are abnormal and irresponsible.”

Chung Sung-the, a 72-year-old anti-yoon protester, said he expected the court to rejection Yoon “100%”, adding: “If so many dangerous things can happen”.

The President to Interim, Han Duck-Soo, whose The impeachment has been canceled From the Constitutional Court at the end of last month, he invited the South Koreans to respect the court sentence on Yoon.

“Any decision is taken, we must calmly and coldly accept the result in accordance with the principles of the rule of law,” said Han on Wednesday.

The tense atmosphere was powered by the inflammatory rhetoric of Yoon allies. Jeon Kwang-Hoon, a far-right shepherd, said to his followers: “If the Constitutional Court does something different (supports the impeachment), we will activate the people’s right to resist and sweep them away with a sword”.