SEOUL: South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party on Monday urged the country’s Constitutional Court to swiftly rule on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, saying keeping the country waiting is “irresponsible” and deepening social division.
As the eight-member court continued deliberations well into the third week, political tensions have surged between those who demand Yoon’s ouster for declaring a short-lived martial law in December and supporters who want him reinstated.
The court had wrapped up arguments on February 25, where Yoon said his martial law declaration was needed to root out “anti-state” elements but he never intended to fully impose emergency military rule.
“The country and the people have come to the breaking point,” a Democratic Party leadership member Kim Min-seok said. “We wait for the court’s responsible decision. Further delay is not normal and irresponsible,” he told a party meeting.
In 2017, former president Park Geun-hye was removed from office 11 days after the final arguments in the Constitutional Court in her impeachment trial.
South Koreans have gathered in huge numbers in the capital Seoul supporting and backing the conservative leader’s removal, saying the delay has been frustrating and made confusion worse.
Yoon was impeached by the Democratic Party-controlled parliament in December for violating his constitutional duty. He committed acts that are a grave threat to rule of law and more than disqualify him from office, the impeachment motion said.
Yoon is on a separate criminal trial on charges of leading insurrection, which is punishable by death or life in prison.
The fallout of Yoon’s martial law declaration has widened the rifts between the conservatives and liberals and those in the public, adding stress on institutions and putting much of the government policy making in limbo.
Some of the country’s top military commanders have been taken off duty and face criminal trials for their roles in the martial law decree. Arguments in the trial of former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun on insurrection charges begin on Monday.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was briefly acting president after Yoon was impeached and suspended from power on December 14, has also been impeached and the country is now led by the Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.
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South Korea’s opposition says delay of Yoon impeachment ruling is irresponsible
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South Korea’s opposition says delay of Yoon impeachment ruling is irresponsible
- The eight-member Constitutional Court continued deliberations well into the third week
- Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the Democratic Party-controlled parliament in December
Venezuela says exiles welcome to return following mass amnesty
QUATIRE: Interim president Delcy Rodriguez promised Monday that Venezuelans in exile would be welcomed back with open arms following a new amnesty law passed after the US ouster of Nicolas Maduro, as authorities continued to slowly release prisoners.
“I am telling you: the doors of Venezuela, the arms of the Venezuelan people, are open to those who want to return in this process of healing from hatred,” she said in a televised address.
An estimated seven million Venezuelans have fled their homeland due to the political and economic crisis and many opposition figures live in exile.
A total of 34 prisoners were released Monday from the Rodeo I penitentiary east of Caracas to scenes of joy from waiting relatives.
Among those freed were military cadets accused of plotting a coup, as well as civilians linked to alleged assassination conspiracies — categories of prisoners some fear the amnesty law wouldn’t cover.
Grecia Arana ran and leapt into the arms of her husband Reinardo Morillo as he crossed the threshold into freedom.
“This is how I dreamed it,” she told AFP, laughing.
Scenes of celebration at the prison gates included several prisoners with shaved heads who shouted “We are free!” as they exited, ending an anguished wait by their families.
“We are completely free, without any restrictions,” Luis Viera, one of the released prisoners, told AFP. He had been locked up for 13 months.
At the same time, the country’s authorities are pressing for the release of Maduro, who is jailed in the United States.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto demanded the toppled president’s immediate release.
Maduro, who was captured in a January 3 raid by the United States, is in custody in New York along with his wife, awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.
The 63-year-old has pleaded not guilty and declared that he is a “prisoner of war.”
“January 3, 2026, marked a turning point of extreme gravity,” Gil told the top UN rights body, adding that the “illegal military action” by US forces left over 100 people killed.
- ‘Reconciliation’ aim -
Gil stressed that his country was “working toward a process of acknowledging past wounds, forgiveness and reconciliation,” referring to the amnesty law.
The country’s legislature unanimously adopted the landmark law last Thursday, and interim leader Rodriguez hailed its passage, describing it as a step toward “a more democratic, fairer, freer Venezuela.”
Rodriguez’s brother, parliament chief Jorge Rodriguez, said 1,500 people had applied for the amnesty, which covers a range of charges used to lock up dissidents during 27 years of hard-line socialist rule.
Some 600 political prisoners remain behind bars throughout the country, according to Foro Penal — an NGO dedicated to the defense of political prisoners.
Approximately 500 people have been released since January.
- Thaw with West -
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to exclude some offenses previously used to target Maduro’s political opponents. Nor does it include military offenses, such as attempted coups.
Since Maduro’s ouster, Rodriguez has worked closely with the United States, and the amnesty law has helped accelerate a thaw in Venezuela’s ties with the broader West.
The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Monday she would propose lifting EU sanctions on Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president.
Elsewhere, the UN rights office said it was in talks with Caracas to reopen its mission in Venezuela. Its staff were expelled in February 2024.
In a further sign of a break with the past, Rodriguez dismissed from her cabinet the wife of Alex Saab, a businessman accused of serving as Maduro’s frontman in corruption schemes.
Saab was indicted in the United States for money laundering but returned to Venezuela in 2024 as part of a prisoner swap to take up the role of industry minister.
Rodriguez removed him from his position in January.
On Monday, she sacked his wife, Camilla Fabri, who served as deputy minister for international communication.
“I am telling you: the doors of Venezuela, the arms of the Venezuelan people, are open to those who want to return in this process of healing from hatred,” she said in a televised address.
An estimated seven million Venezuelans have fled their homeland due to the political and economic crisis and many opposition figures live in exile.
A total of 34 prisoners were released Monday from the Rodeo I penitentiary east of Caracas to scenes of joy from waiting relatives.
Among those freed were military cadets accused of plotting a coup, as well as civilians linked to alleged assassination conspiracies — categories of prisoners some fear the amnesty law wouldn’t cover.
Grecia Arana ran and leapt into the arms of her husband Reinardo Morillo as he crossed the threshold into freedom.
“This is how I dreamed it,” she told AFP, laughing.
Scenes of celebration at the prison gates included several prisoners with shaved heads who shouted “We are free!” as they exited, ending an anguished wait by their families.
“We are completely free, without any restrictions,” Luis Viera, one of the released prisoners, told AFP. He had been locked up for 13 months.
At the same time, the country’s authorities are pressing for the release of Maduro, who is jailed in the United States.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto demanded the toppled president’s immediate release.
Maduro, who was captured in a January 3 raid by the United States, is in custody in New York along with his wife, awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.
The 63-year-old has pleaded not guilty and declared that he is a “prisoner of war.”
“January 3, 2026, marked a turning point of extreme gravity,” Gil told the top UN rights body, adding that the “illegal military action” by US forces left over 100 people killed.
- ‘Reconciliation’ aim -
Gil stressed that his country was “working toward a process of acknowledging past wounds, forgiveness and reconciliation,” referring to the amnesty law.
The country’s legislature unanimously adopted the landmark law last Thursday, and interim leader Rodriguez hailed its passage, describing it as a step toward “a more democratic, fairer, freer Venezuela.”
Rodriguez’s brother, parliament chief Jorge Rodriguez, said 1,500 people had applied for the amnesty, which covers a range of charges used to lock up dissidents during 27 years of hard-line socialist rule.
Some 600 political prisoners remain behind bars throughout the country, according to Foro Penal — an NGO dedicated to the defense of political prisoners.
Approximately 500 people have been released since January.
- Thaw with West -
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to exclude some offenses previously used to target Maduro’s political opponents. Nor does it include military offenses, such as attempted coups.
Since Maduro’s ouster, Rodriguez has worked closely with the United States, and the amnesty law has helped accelerate a thaw in Venezuela’s ties with the broader West.
The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Monday she would propose lifting EU sanctions on Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president.
Elsewhere, the UN rights office said it was in talks with Caracas to reopen its mission in Venezuela. Its staff were expelled in February 2024.
In a further sign of a break with the past, Rodriguez dismissed from her cabinet the wife of Alex Saab, a businessman accused of serving as Maduro’s frontman in corruption schemes.
Saab was indicted in the United States for money laundering but returned to Venezuela in 2024 as part of a prisoner swap to take up the role of industry minister.
Rodriguez removed him from his position in January.
On Monday, she sacked his wife, Camilla Fabri, who served as deputy minister for international communication.
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