Constitutional Court removes police chief over martial law involvement

S.Korea’s National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji Ho [AP Photo]

South Korea’s Constitutional Court yesterday formally removed the country’s impeached police chief for deploying hundreds of officers to support ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

The court said Cho Ji-ho “actively disrupted” legislative activities by sending police forces to the National Assembly and trying to block lawmakers from reaching the main chamber to vote to lift Yoon’s decree.

Cho also infringed upon the independence of the National Election Commission, the court said, by dispatching police to help the military’s seizure of two NEC offices. Yoon said the actions were intended to investigate unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.

Cho, who was impeached by lawmakers and arrested a week after Yoon’s power grab, is the first commissioner general of the National Police Agency to be removed by the Constitutional Court. He was granted bail in January after a Seoul criminal court cited his need for cancer treatment and faces a separate criminal trial on charges of assisting a rebellion.

Yoon imposed martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, describing the action as necessary to suppress an “anti-state” liberal opposition controlling the legislature. Hours later a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through the military and police blockade and unanimously voted to revoke the order.

Lawmakers later in December voted to impeach Yoon, suspending his powers and placing his fate with the Constitutional Court, which formally removed him from office in April. He was rearrested in July and faces a slew of serious charges including rebellion, which is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.

In its ruling on Cho’s impeachment motion, the Constitutional Court said he cannot remain as the national police chief when he carried out Yoon’s orders despite being clearly aware they were “unconstitutional, unlawful.”

The ruling noted Cho and the Seoul metropolitan police chief were summoned by Yoon to a safe house hours before the declaration of martial law, where they discussed plans to carry it out with Yoon’s then defense minister.

Following Yoon’s declaration, Yoon and the Seoul police chief deployed about 300 officers around the entrances of the National Assembly, which also was swarmed by heavily armed troops, including special operations units with Blackhawk helicopters, in what the court described as an effort to block the legislative vote.

After protests by lawmakers and civilians at the National Assembly, police briefly allowed lawmakers and legislative staff to enter before sealing the grounds for more than two hours later that night after the military’s martial law command announced the suspension of political activities. A quorum of lawmakers still managed to enter with some, including current President Lee Jae Myung, climbing fences to reach the main chamber.

Cho argued his actions did not constitute support for Yoon’s martial law, claiming he sent police to the Assembly to maintain order and prevent accidental clashes.

“Considering that lawmakers and others had no choice but to enter the National Assembly by abnormal means, such as climbing over fences, due to the respondent’s order to block the entrances, the respondent’s claim is not acceptable,” the court said in a statement. MDT/AP