On Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in South Korea as the opposition party gained firm control of parliament and his popularity plummeted.
The martial law decree was reversed within hours by the National Assembly, which impeached Yoon less than a week later, on Dec. 14, and suspended his powers as president.
A month later, on Jan. 15, 2025, Yoon was arrested and detained while being tried by Korea’s Constitutional Court, which is given 90 days to try an impeached official. On April 4, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon’s impeachment and formally removed him from office.
Two months later, on June 3, the country held a snap election, with Lee Jae Myung becoming the new president. Lee remains in office.
Removal from the presidency did not spare Yoon from criminal prosecution. On Feb. 19 this year, the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of leading an insurrection and sentenced him to life in prison.
That’s three months from the impeachment to trial and conviction of a sitting president, and just about 15 months from the commission of the offense to conviction and sentencing.
It is, of course, another country. But there are Filipinos who are looking at the example of South Korea as the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte threatens to move at the same glacial pace as the regular criminal justice system.
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is hearing the charge revolving mainly around the Vice President’s livestreamed statement in which she said she had contracted someone – “no joke, no joke” – to kill President Marcos, his wife Liza and cousin Martin Romualdez in case Duterte herself would be murdered.
Yesterday marked the eighth day of discussing whether the statement was a grave threat, and whether the Vice President’s expletive-laden rant constituted an impeachable offense warranting her removal and perpetual disqualification from public office.
After three weeks, there have been improvements in the conduct of the trial, with too much legalese by the lawyers and extraneous, self-serving comments by senator-judges being reduced.
But public impatience isn’t lessening, especially with people beginning to compare the process with the developments in South Korea, which is known for the brutal efficiency of its legal system.
Senator-judges may find the comparison unfair, but it should remind them – not for the first time – that along with the Vice President, the Senate itself is on trial.