South Korea public divided as Constitutional Court upholds President Yoon's impeachment

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday removed President Yoon Suk-yeol from office by upholding his impeachment, which has ignited passionate reactions across the nation, as South Koreans express both celebration and frustration over the decision.

While anti-government protesters view the outcome as a step toward restoring public trust, supporters of Yoon see it as a blow to democratic principles.

Among those welcoming the decision is Kim Keon, an anti-Yoon protester, who believes the ruling is an opportunity for national reflection.

"I think the Constitutional Court made a very obvious and rightful decision, and I feel that this ruling could help restore order and trust in our society. I also hope this decision won't just be seen in terms of who won or lost, but rather as a chance for our society to start paying attention again to areas we may have overlooked for too long," said Kim.

Another protester, Lee Sang-Joon, described the moment as historic, emphasizing a fresh start for the country.

"I believe this is a truly significant moment for South Korea to rise again. However, this is not the end of everything but rather the beginning of something new. We firmly believe that this marks the start of a new chapter in our country's history - one that will be remembered with pride. This is an incredibly joyful moment. Thank you," he said.

Not everyone agreed with the decision. Some supporters of Yoon believe this ruling undermines the will of the people.

"As a citizen, I find this result absolutely unacceptable. It was a unanimous decision, but if you look at the details, there are claims in some circles that testimonies or evidence may have been fabricated," said Woo Dong-Gyun, a supporter of Yoon.

"I can no longer trust any public officials in South Korea, and I feel that the legislative, judicial, and executive branches are all meaningless. From my perspective, I can only see this as proof that the country is corrupt, and I want to make it clear that I have no trust or faith in anyone in public office," said Lim Hwa-Sup, another Yoon supporter.

With emotions running high, the nation now prepares for a presidential election to select a new leader which must come within 60 days.

South Korea's constitutional court upheld the impeachment motion by the National Assembly over his short-lived martial law imposition.

Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief of the court, read a ruling on Yoon's impeachment, saying it was a unanimous decision of eight justices.

The conservative leader officially lost all presidential power, becoming the country's second sitting president to be forcibly removed from power following former conservative President Park Geun-hye's ouster through impeachment in 2017.

Yoon became the third president to be impeached by the National Assembly in the country's constitutional history. Late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun was reinstated in presidency after impeachment by the National Assembly in 2004.

South Korea public divided as Constitutional Court upholds President Yoon's impeachment

South Korea faces divided reactions as Constitutional court upholds President Yoon‘’s impeachment

China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.

Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.

Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.

"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.

China's development never a threat: FM spokesman