On March 10, all eight judges of the Constitutional Court of Korea approved the impeachment of the scandal-ridden — now ex-president — Geun-hye Park. The court opened at 11 a.m. and after 22 minutes, judge Jung-mi Lee read the final verdict of impeaching ex-president Park. The verdict triggered several reactions: mostly festive and hopeful, but some angry.

From the revelation of the Choi Soon-sil incident to the verdict, this topic has occupied the front pages and headlines of most news outlets. In October, the scandal broke out, which resulted in weeks of protesters gathering in Gwanghwamun urging the removal of Park from office. In December, the National Assembly voted for the impeachment of Park, making it the second time the National Assembly has voted for such a case – the first time being ex-president Moohyun Roh. And finally, after almost half a year, the verdict was made.

Many citizens online and offline celebrated the fruition of several months of protest. Several people parodied and mocked the impeachment online through various images and memes, while others fired fireworks during the protests on the following days of the impeachment. However, some of those who celebrated also reminded people that the true goal of the protest was to illuminate the truth behind the Sewol Ferry Incident and the Choi Soon-sil Scandal and that the impeachment of ex-president Park was merely a process for the ultimate goal.

On the other hand, there were people who lamented the impeachment. The ex-president-favoring group Parksamo — directly translated to Group for Park Lovers — protested against the decision of the constitutional court the day the verdict was made. In the angered protests, conflicts between the protesters and the police rose. This resulted in one of the protesters dying from a falling speaker, which lost its balance after other protesters pushed on the bus that the speaker was on. They have also carried out a funeral for the death of the Korean rule of law.

Now, with the absence of a president, Korea has up to 60 days to elect a new president. Although conservatists worry that the extreme left will have too much power with the stagger of Park’s right-wing party, many hope that the new government will not repeat the same mistakes of the previous one and uphold truth and justice.