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.
Despite the lack of a serious response from North Korea, Cho said that Yoon declared martial law by branding the liberal-controlled legislature as “anti-state forces” that must be urgently removed.
In a nationally televised verdict, South Korea's Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon's impeachment because his martial law decree seriously violated the constitution and other laws.
The decision to arrest Yoon ignited unrest at the Seoul Western District Court, where dozens of his supporters broke in and rioted, destroying the main door and windows.
Yoon was removed by South Korea's parliament on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to suspend civilian rule, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in years.
Yoon Suk Yeol's televised statement came hours before the main liberal opposition Democratic Party submits a new impeachment motion against Yoon to put it on a floor vote this weekend.
