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South Korean constitutional court The country’s impeached police chief was formally removed on Thursday for deploying hundreds of officers in support of the ousted former president yoon suk yeolMartial law will be briefly imposed in December 2024.
The court said Cho Ji-ho “actively disrupted” legislative activities by deploying hundreds of police officers. National Assembly And efforts are being made to prevent lawmakers from reaching the main chamber to vote on Yun’s decision to remove him.
The court said Cho also violated the independence of the National Election Commission by sending police to help the military seize two NEC offices. Yoon said the purpose of the action was to investigate unfounded claims of election fraud.
Cho, who was impeached by lawmakers and arrested a week after Yoon seized power, is the first commissioner general of a national police agency to be removed by the Constitutional Court. He got bail in January soul The criminal court cited his need for cancer treatment and he faces a separate criminal trial on charges of aiding insurrection.
Yun imposed martial law on December 3, 2024, citing the action as necessary to suppress the “anti-state” liberal opposition that controlled the legislature. Hours later a quorum of MPs managed to break through the military and police blockade and voted unanimously to repeal the order.
Later in December lawmakers voted to impeach Yoon, suspending his powers and putting his fate up to the Constitutional Court, which formally removed him from office in April. He was arrested again in July and faces serious charges, including rebellion, which carries a life sentence or death sentence.
In its ruling on Cho’s impeachment motion, the Constitutional Court stated that he could not remain as national police chief when he followed Yoon’s orders despite clearly knowing that they were “unconstitutional, illegal”.
The ruling notes that Cho and the Seoul Metropolitan Police chief were summoned by Yoon to a safe house hours before the declaration of martial law, where they discussed plans to implement it with Yoon, then the defense minister.
Following Yoon’s announcement, Yoon and the Seoul police chief deployed about 300 officers around the entrances to the National Assembly, including heavily armed soldiers, including special operations units with Blackhawk helicopters, in what the court described as an attempt to block the legislative vote.
Following protests by lawmakers and citizens at the National Assembly, police allowed lawmakers and legislative staff to enter before sealing off the grounds for more than two hours that night, when the military’s Martial Law Command announced the suspension of political activities. A group of lawmakers still managed to enter, some including current President Lee Jae-Myung, who climbed over the fence to reach the main chamber.
Cho argued that his actions did not support Yun’s martial law, claiming that he had sent police to the assembly to maintain order and prevent accidental clashes.
“Given that due to the defendant’s order to block the entrances, MPs and others had no choice but to enter the National Assembly by unusual means, such as climbing the fence, the defendant’s claim is not acceptable,” the court said in a statement.