South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday unanimously upheld President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment, removing him from office and triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days. South Korea will elect a new government by early June. All eight justices ruled in favor of the National Assembly’s motion, decisively rejecting Yoon’s defense that his martial law declaration was a symbolic act rather than an abuse of executive power.

The court ruled that Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration, which suspendedpolitical activities and ordered military intervention in political affairs and the press, violated constitutional principles. In the ruling, the court stated,