The court sentenced Han for playing a key role in the rebellion by trying to give procedural legitimacy to the martial law decree by getting it passed through a Cabinet Council meeting.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
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.
