SEOUL, April 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his country are at a turning point as the country's constitutional court has announced that it will deliver its verdict on the impeachment against the president on Friday.

It took the court more than 100 days to make a decision after the impeachment motion was passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 14, 2024.

WILL YOON BE REMOVED?

The unusually long deliberation period has fueled speculations about divisions in the constitutional court.

Kyung Hee University Law School Professor Jung Taeho told local newspaper Chosun Ilbo that he expected a unanimous ruling to uphold the impeachment to prevent future presidents from abusing emergency powers during political crises.

However, some analysts believed the impeachment could be dismissed if fewer than six judges vote in favor, allowing Yoon to return to the presidential office.

Local daily Hankyoreh cited a former senior judge who speculated that the delay in the constitutional court might indicate insufficient support for impeachment.

The ruling and opposition parties remain sharply divided, while a March 28 poll showed 60 percent of South Koreans support impeachment, with 34 percent opposed.

If the impeachment is upheld, Yoon will be immediately removed, and a new presidential election must be held within 60 days. If the impeachment is dismissed or rejected, he will resume his duties.

WHAT TOOK SO LONG?

Local media reports suggested that the complexity of procedural disputes and disagreements among the judges may be the main reasons.

The details of the judges' discussions remained confidential, but legal experts believed that they may have had extensive debates over key procedural issues.

Speculations suggested that the eight judges may have sought a unanimous decision to minimize public division, which required more time. The local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that intense legal debates among the judges may have influenced both the timing and content of the ruling.

There were also reports indicating that handling multiple impeachment cases simultaneously may have slowed the constitutional court in the process.

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

Large-scale protests have been held by both supporters and opponents of Yoon for days, heightening tensions.

Regardless of the outcome, political polarization is expected to worsen in South Korea, with deepening social divisions unlikely to heal soon.

The prolonged uncertainty has intensified conflicts between conservative and progressive factions, making street protests a daily occurrence and further fracturing society, said Lee Jaemook, a professor at the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

A report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs released in March found that public perception of "social conflict" reached its highest level since 2018, with the most severe divide between progressives and conservatives.

The Dong-A Ilbo observed that ideological conflicts, more than regional or wealth disparities, have become a major obstacle to South Korea's social unity. Enditem

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