Impeached South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun regained power yesterday in a historic Constitutional Court ruling that overturned an opposition-led vote to unseat him and gave him a fresh mandate with South Korea's most progressive government in decades.
The nine-judge panel ruled that Roh violated an election law but that the infraction was not serious enough to justify ousting him after one year in office.
The verdict, watched by millions over seven national television stations, ends months of political paralysis created by the unprecedented impeachment, deals another embarrassing blow to the country's conservative opposition and bolsters Roh's policies of seeking reconciliation with communist North Korea and a more equal footing with traditional ally the US.
"We have him back!" dozens of tearful supporters chanted outside the white granite courthouse. Supporters festooned downtown Seoul with yellow ribbons and balloons. Villagers in the president's hometown on the south coast danced under trees decorated with yellow ribbons.
"Let's make policies that win support from the people," Roh said during a luncheon he hosted for his presidential staff after the verdict, according to his spokesman Yoon Tae-young.
Roh will be working with the country's first liberal National Assembly in four decades, one that supports him but wants a foreign policy less dependent on the US. Yet, he will need to balance that with maintaining the traditional alliance with Washington, considered crucial for a peaceful resolution of the crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
A more immediate challenge is how to subdue a growing voice against his decision to send 3,600 troops to Iraq, amid rising violence in the Middle Eastern country.
The main opposition Grand National Party, which sponsored the March 12 impeachment in the National Assembly, "humbly respected" the ruling, apologized to the people and promised to end divisive political bickering and concentrate on reviving the economy.
"We offer our deepest apologies for causing unease and concern for the people over the impeachment," said GNP head Park Guen-hye in a news conference.
But bitterness lingered.
"To me, the verdict was a funeral song for the nation," said Sohn Chang-shik, 58, one of dozens of people who gathered outside the court shouting "Down with Roh Moo-hyun!"
He feared that Roh, encouraged by the ruling, might become more abrasive in dealing with the opposition and irk conservatives who cherish the alliance with Washington and want Seoul to get tough on the communist North.
Roh says he supports the decades-old alliance with the United States but wants Washington to show more latitude in resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff.
The reinstated 57-year-old president is now paired with a friendly assembly, a first in 16 years.
Presidential spokesman Yoon pledged the government will fulfill its promises with "new resolve." Uri chief Chung Dong-young called the verdict a ``great victory for the people who wanted to defend democracy.''
Friday's ruling, read by Constitutional Court President Yun Young-chul, covered three main charges against Roh -- illegal campaigning, corruption scandals involving his aides, and economic mismanagement.
It cleared Roh of the charge of economic mismanagement and the allegation he was incompetent for failing to control corruption among several former aides. But it agreed with the charge that Roh violated election rules when he spoke in favor of the Uri party at a news conference.
Roh immediately resumed his executive duties, which had been handed over to Prime Minister Goh Kun while the Constitutional Court reviewed the case.
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