South Korean police yesterday began dialling up their security levels in preparation for a Constitutional Court ruling on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment, as they sealed off areas around the court.Police took the alert to the second-highest level yesterday and said they would issue the top alert today, enabling the deployment of 100 percent of the force. The top alert is typically issued in response to the potential for mass casualty events, acts of terrorism or major disasters.Police have already cleared a 490-foot radius around the courthouse. “The area surrounding the court is basically sealed off from any protesters,” an official from the Korean National Police Agency, said.The move comes as multiple embassies – including the US and France – have issued warnings to their citizens to avoid political rallies or mass gatherings in connection with today’s verdict.Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2017 presidential impeachment ruling, when four people died after the court upheld the removal of former president Park Geun-hye.At the time, Park’s supporters clashed with authorities, piling onto police buses, smashing windows with wooden sticks and assaulting officers.Schools, embassies, major corporations, tourist sites and museums near the courthouse yesterday announced they would be closed.Lee Ho-young, acting chief of the Korean National Police Agency, has said the ongoing situation has become “more grave than ever”, citing “threats to the safety of key figures” and possibility of violent and illegal incidents.Yoon plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil when he declared martial law on December 3, suspending civilian rule and sending soldiers to parliament.
