Yoon apologizes for not living up to expectations as he is stripped of presidency

A few hours after the Constitutional Court's ruling the top office released a statement sharing the former leader's response.

Our correspondent Kim Do-yeon is live on the line with details.

Do-yeon let's begin with the gist of that statement.

Sun-hee, there was a lot of speculation as to whether President Yoon was going to put out a statement if he were to lose the Constitutional Court case today, but the brief message was released through his legal representatives.

While he didn't directly mention the Constitutional Court's ruling, he thanked his supporters and said

I am sincerely grateful for your unwavering support and encouragement, even when I fell short.

I deeply regret not being able to live up to your hopes and expectations.

Now, the Office itself will be supporting Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

However, at around 3:30 PM, through a written statement, the Presidential Office said that the Chief of Staff, the Chief of Staff for Policy, and the National Security Advisor, along with all senior-level secretaries have passed on their intentions to resign to the Acting President.

Whether the Acting President will accept their resignations is something to look out for.

2. I see.

Meanwhile Do-yeon what are the protocols in place now that the court has upheld the presidential impeachment?

I mean I hear he currently remains at the presidential residence?

That's right, Sun-hee. Today marks day 1-thousand-and-60 since his inauguration.

Just moments after the ruling, we saw the phoenix flag, the symbol of the South Korean president, coming down from this building.

Yoon Suk Yeol is now a civilian.

As you said, he is still at the Presidential Residence and will have to leave, but there are no clear rules for that, so we will have to wait.

Former president Park Geun-hye left the former presidential Blue House two days after her ruling, but, as I say, there is no written rule about this.

Yoon is expected to return to his home in the Seocho-gu District of Seoul.

From this point on, he will not be treated as a former president due to today's ruling.

This means no presidential pension or a spot at the National Cemetery.

The Presidential Security Service will no longer be fully protecting him, but because he has state confidential information, there will be a downsized security team to at least guarantee his safety.

This goes on for at least five years and ten at the maximum.

3. And before you go Do-yeon what's the latest with regard to the criminal case on charges of insurrection?

As he has become a civilian, it'll be much easier for the prosecutors to call Yoon in for further questioning, as he won't have an official security system around him.

That wasn't the case until now, as we had seen some conflict between the investigators for the criminal case and the Presidential Security Service.

Keep in mind, in South Korea's legal system, if Yoon is convicted of leading an insurrection, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.

On top of this, he has other accusations that he will have to deal with now as well.

Presidents can't be charged with any crime except for insurrection or treason, but now that he's a civilian there could be additional legal battles brought against him.

I see.

All right Do-yeon thank you for that report.