Top Stories 24/12/14 Korean bishops welcome president’s impeachment

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Korean bishops welcome president’s impeachment

The Constitutional Court is assessing the validity of the National Assembly removing Yoon Suk Yeol from office

A man criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol holds a placard reading 'The Constitutional Court must immediately accept the impeachment motion!' in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Dec. 16. (Photo: AFP)

By UCA News reporter

Published: December 16, 2024 11:30 AM GMT

Updated: December 16, 2024 11:45 AM GMT

Catholic bishops in South Korea have welcomed the parliament’s decision to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office and have called for unity for the well-being of the people and the nation.

In a statement on Dec. 14, Bishop Mathias Ri Iong-hoon, the president of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, urged collective actions for the country’s well-being.

“It is time to put aside partisan differences and work together for the well-being of the country and its people,” said Ri, who is also the bishop of Suwon  

“The Korean people have been through a lot in the past week,” Ri said in the statement published on the conference website.

“Whether you support the president or not, it is unfortunate that we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands and impeach the president of South Korea,” Ri lamented.

Lawmakers voted on Dec. 14 to remove Yoon from office over his "insurrectionary" suspension of civilian rule, which lasted hours but plunged South Korea into some of its worst political turmoil.

Yoon has been suspended while South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberates the impeachment, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo serving as interim leader, AFP reported on Dec. 16

The court has 180 days to rule on Yoon's future.

Reports say that Yoon remains under a travel ban and that his inner circle of top officials is facing a separate investigation.

Ri lamented that Yoon became the second South Korean president to be impeached after Park Geun-hye, the nation’s first female president, who was impeached on Dec. 9, 2016, following a political scandal.

Ri urged Yoon and his government to “sincerely apologize” to the people for “allowing the situation to reach this point [of internal turmoil].”

“The National Assembly must work with the executive branch to stabilize the country on behalf of the suspended president,” Ri added.

Ri pointed out that the Korean Catholic Church fervently hopes that the Constitutional Court will quickly decide on Yoon’s impeachment “so that the country’s affairs can be put in order and people’s lives can be stabilized as soon as possible.”

Fresh elections must be held within two months if he is removed. 

“The Catholic Church in Korea will always stand with the Korean people,” Ri said.

The prelate emphasized the need to stand united and realize a country where democracy is upheld, everyone is equal before the law, and where “no one can impose his or her will on the people,” disregarding the democratic process.