South Korea's Constitutional Court removed impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office on Friday, ending his tumultuous presidency and setting up an election to replace him.
A 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple, houses, factories and vehicles were among the structures destroyed in the wildfires that have burned 43,330 acres and injured 19 people.
Many observers said Monday's ruling on Han Duck-soo doesn't signal much on the upcoming verdict on President Yoon Suk Yeol, as Han wasn't a key figure in Yoon's martial law imposition.
The decision would allow Yoon to stand his criminal trial while not being physically detained. The court is expected to rule soon on whether to uphold his impeachment or remove him from office.
The air force said the jets were taking part in a drill with the U.S. military in Pocheon, a city close to the border with North Korea, when they dropped bombs just outside a firing range.
The brief declaration of martial law in South Korea last month has drawn comparisons to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The attempted power grabs could hold lessons for other democracies.
South Koreans rallied overnight near the residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol calling for his arrest, as authorities prepared to renew their efforts to detain him.
Many worry how effectively the South Korean government will handle the disaster as it grapples with a leadership vacuum after the impeachments of the country's top two officials.
Footage of the crash aired by YTN television showed the Jeju Air plane skidding across the airstrip, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall.
The impeachments of the country's president and then acting-president worsen the nation's political turmoil, deepen its economic uncertainty and hurt its international image.
South Korea's parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his attempt to impose martial law, the first time such a measure had been imposed on the nation in more than four decades.
South Korea's parliament voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol as authorities investigate allegations of rebellion over his controversial Dec. 3 martial law decree.
In an address to the nation, President Yoon Suk Yeol claimed the opposition-controlled parliament has been destroying the country's liberal democratic order.
Police, prosecutors and investigators have deemed President Yoon Suk Yeol as a suspect in a rare investigation into a sitting president for possible insurrection charges.
