South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach President Yeon Suk-yeol due to martial law

South Korea’s parliament voted on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol due to his short term in office Martial law decreea historic rebuke cheered by jubilant crowds who described the result as another challenging moment in the nation’s resilient democratic journey.

The National Assembly approved the proposal by 204 votes to 85 in a vote. Yoon’s presidential powers and duties will be suspended and Prime Minister Han Dak-soo, the country’s No. 2 official, will assume his authority once copies of the impeachment document are delivered to Yoon and to the Constitutional Court.

The court has up to 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon as president or restore his powers. If he is removed from office, a national election must be held to choose his successor within 60 days.

This is the National Assembly’s second vote on the motion to impeach Yoon. Last Saturday, Yun He survived a vote to impeach him After most of the ruling party’s representatives boycotted the vote. Some People Power Party lawmakers have since announced their intention to vote to impeach Yoon in a second vote, as public protests against Yoon intensify and his approval ratings decline.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said Yoon’s impeachment was the result of the people’s “fierce desire for democracy, courage and dedication.”

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered near Parliament in jubilation, waving banners and waving colorful K-pop sticks, while an activist on stage shouted: “We preserved the constitutional order!”

In a square in central Seoul, another large crowd of people who supported Yoon gathered, but they became subdued after hearing of Yoon’s impeachment. Both marches were largely peaceful.
Yoon issued a statement saying he would “never give up” and called on officials to maintain stability in government functions during what he described as a “temporary” pause in his presidency.

He said: “I carry in my heart all the criticism, encouragement and support directed at me, and I will do my best for the country until the last minute.”

Yoon’s imposition of martial law on December 3, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades, lasted only six hours, but caused massive political unrest, halted diplomatic activities and rattled financial markets. Yoon was forced to cancel his decree after Parliament voted unanimously to repeal it.

After declaring martial law, Yoon sent hundreds of army soldiers and police officers to Parliament to try to block his vote on the decree, before they withdrew after Parliament rejected it. There were no major acts of violence.

Opposition parties and many experts accuse Yoon of rebellion, citing a law that classifies organizing riots against existing state authorities as rebellion, to undermine the constitution. They also say that South Korea’s president is only allowed to declare martial law in times of war or similar emergencies, and has no right to suspend parliamentary operations even under martial law.

The indictment alleged that Yoon “committed rebellion prejudicial to the peace of the Republic of Korea by organizing a series of riots.” She said that Yoon’s mobilization of the military and police forces threatened the National Assembly and the public and that his martial law decree aimed to upset the constitution.

In a A fiery speech on ThursdayYoon had rejected accusations of rebellion, describing his order as an act of governance. Conservative Yoon said he aimed to issue a warning to the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, calling it a “monster” and “anti-state forces” that he said had flexed their legislative power to remove top officials and undermine the government’s budget bill. Next year. He claimed that the deployment of forces was aimed at maintaining order, not disrupting it.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung described Yoon’s speech as a “crazy declaration of war” against his own people.

Observers say Yoon’s speech indicates a focus on legal preparations to defend his martial law decree in the Constitutional Court, even as opinion polls show that more than 70% of South Koreans support his impeachment. A poll released on Friday showed Yoon’s approval rating at 11%, the lowest since he took office in 2022.

Some of Yoon’s claims do not tally with the testimony of some military commanders whose forces were deployed to the association.

In particular, Kwak Jong-kyun, commander of the Army’s Special Warfare Command, said that after martial law was declared, Yoon called him and asked his troops to “quickly destroy the door and take out the legislators inside.” Kwak said he did not carry out Yoon’s orders.

The third president was impeached while in office

Yoon is the third South Korean president to be impeached while in office. In 2016, Parliament Park Geun-hye impeachedthe country’s first female president, due to a corruption scandal. The Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment and removal from office.

In 2004, President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in Parliament for alleged violation of the election law, but the court later overturned his impeachment and restored his presidential powers. Roh He jumped to his death In 2009, after he left office, amid a corruption scandal that affected his family.

Yoon has been banned from leaving South Korea, as law enforcement authorities investigate whether he and others involved in declaring martial law committed rebellion, abuse of power and other crimes. If convicted, the leader of the rebellion plot could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Yoon enjoys the presidential privilege of immunity from criminal prosecution, but this does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. Later, Yoon could be investigated, detained, arrested or charged due to the martial law decree, but many observers doubt that the authorities will forcefully arrest him due to the possibility of clashes with the presidential security service.

Defense Minister Yoon, the police chief and the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency were arrested for their roles in the martial law case. Other senior military and government officials are also facing investigations.