Cold War ghosts loom over Yoon's impeachment

South Korea's political schism is a battle of history rather than policy

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2025-04-04 Yoon

Demonstrators stand in front of a banner with a photograph of Yoon Suk Yeol as people wait for the Constitutional Court ruling on his impeachment near his residence in Seoul on April 4, 2025. © Reuters

John Delury is a historian of East Asia and expert on US-China relations and the Korean Peninsula. He is currently a visiting professor of political science and international affairs at John Cabot University in Rome.

With the Constitutional Court's unanimous decision to uphold the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea's perilous political vacuum can finally be filled by a new leader. The liberal standard-bearer, Lee Jae-myung, will be the man to beat as conservatives decide on a challenger (or challengers) in the snap election to be held two months from now.

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