CCEJ Welcomes Yoon’s Life Sentence... Says Democracy Must Not Backslide

Welcoming the Court's Ruling... Calling for "Reform of the Power Structure"

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) welcomed the first-instance ruling that sentenced former President Yoon Sukyeol to life imprisonment on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection, and called for a reform of the power structure.

In a statement released on the 19th, CCEJ said, "This is an utterly natural and commonsense outcome for an act that destroyed constitutional governance by trampling on the people's representative body through the deployment of the military and the violation of the Constitution," adding, "We respect and deeply welcome the court's decision, which has restored the collapsed constitutional order and fulfilled its duty as the last bastion of the rule of law."

On the 19th, people in the concourse of Seoul Station are watching the live broadcast of the first-instance sentencing hearing for former President Yoon Sukyeol, who was indicted on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection related to martial law. Yonhap News

CCEJ pointed out that the declaration of emergency martial law was clearly unconstitutional. In particular, it criticized, "Former President Yoon Sukyeol declared emergency martial law in the middle of the night, using the opposition party's repeated impeachment motions and budget cuts as excuses," and added, "However, this was an obvious outrage carried out solely for political purposes, which in no way met the constitutional requirements for declaring martial law."

Regarding the court's judgment, it stated, "The court made it clear that the substance of the case was 'a riot with the purpose of undermining the constitutional order, in which the military was deployed with the aim of preventing the National Assembly from functioning properly for a considerable period of time,'" and evaluated, "It also made it explicit that even if an act is claimed to be an exercise of authority, the use of force to paralyze the powers of a constitutional institution constitutes the crime of insurrection."

CCEJ said that this ruling must serve as a starting point for the restoration of democracy, stressing, "There must be no further backsliding of democracy in the Republic of Korea," and "Today's court decision is not the end, but a new beginning."

It went on to say, "In order to fundamentally block a second or third loyalist coup, the current imperial presidential power structure must be overhauled at its roots," and urged, "Immediately embark on fundamental institutional reforms, including a restructuring of the power system, to disperse the excessively concentrated powers of the president and the executive branch and to ensure that genuine checks and balances can function."