South Korea's parliament voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for a short term martial law ordera historic rebuke that was cheered by a large crowd who described the result as another challenging time in the country's resilient democratic journey.
The National Assembly passed the motion 204-85 in a floor vote. Yoon's presidential powers and duties will be suspended and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's No. 2 official, will take over his authority once copies of the impeachment document are delivered to Yoon and the Constitutional Court.
The court has up to 180 days to determine whether Yoon should be dismissed as president or his powers restored. If he is thrown out of office, a national election for his successor must be held within 60 days.
This was the second vote by the National Assembly on Yoon's impeachment motion. Last Saturday, Yoon An impeachment vote survived after most ruling party lawmakers boycotted the floor vote. Some People Power Party lawmakers have since announced plans to vote for Yoon's impeachment in a second vote, as public protests against Yoon grew and his approval rating plummeted. down.
National Assembly speaker Woo Won Shik said Yoon's impeachment was the result of “the people's strong desire for democracy, courage and commitment.”
Hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered near the parliament were laughing, waving flags and waving colorful K-pop sticks, when a leading activist shouted on stage “We have to preserve the constitutional order!”
In downtown Seoul, another large crowd of Yoon's supporters gathered, but became subdued after hearing that Yoon had been fired. Both rallies have been largely peaceful.
Yoon issued a statement saying he would “never give up” and called on officials to maintain stability in government activities during what he described as a “temporary” suspension of his presidency.
“Keeping all the criticism, encouragement and support given to me in my heart, I will do my best for the country until the last moment,” he said.
Yoon's Dec. 3 suspension of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, lasted only six hours, but has caused a major political uproar, halted diplomatic activity and has disrupted financial markets. Yoon was forced to lift his order after parliament voted unanimously to overturn it.
After declaring martial law, Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to parliament to try to block his vote on the decree, before pulling out after parliament rejected it. No major violence occurred.
The opposition parties and many experts accuse Yoon of sedition, citing a law that classifies as sedition the holding of a riot against established state authorities in order to violate the constitution. weakening They also say that the president in South Korea is only allowed to declare martial law during war or a similar crisis and that he has no right to suspend the activities of the parliament even under martial law.
The impeachment motion said that Yoon “promised a revolution that hurts the peace of the Republic of Korea by holding a series of riots.” They said Yoon's deployment of military and police forces threatened the National Assembly and the public and that his martial law order was aimed at disrupting the constitution.
In a Thursday's fiery speechYoon had denied the rebellion charges, calling his order an administrative act. 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 argued have to mobilize his legislative muscles to oppose key officials and undermine the government's budget bill for. the following year. He said the use of troops was intended to maintain order, rather than disrupt it.
Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung called Yoon's speech a “mad declaration of war” against his own people.
Observers say Yoon's speech suggested a focus on legal preparations to defend his martial law order at the Constitutional Court, even as opinion polls showed more than 70% of Koreans South supports his impeachment. A survey released Friday put Yoon's approval rating at 11%, the lowest since he took office in 2022.
Some of Yoon's claims do not match the testimony of some military commanders whose troops were sent to the Senate.
In particular, Kwak Jong-keun, the head of the Army's Special Warfare Command, said that after declaring martial law, Yoon called him and asked his soldiers to “quickly destroy the door and the lawmakers who to draw out.” Kwak said he did not carry out Yoon's orders.
The 3rd president was impeached while in office
Yoon is the third South Korean president to be impeached while in office. In 2016, the parliament impeached Park Geun-hyethe country's first female president, after a corruption scandal. The Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment and removed her from office.
In 2004, President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached in parliament on charges of violating the election law but the court overturned his impeachment and restored his presidential powers. sit with him Roh he jumped to his death in 2009, after leaving office amid a corruption scandal involving his family.
Yoon has been barred from leaving South Korea, as law enforcement authorities investigate whether he and others involved in the declaration of martial law committed rebellion, abuse of power and other crimes . If convicted, the leader of a rebellion plot can face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Yoon has the presidential privilege of immunity from criminal charges but that does not extend to charges of rebellion or treason. After that, Yoon could be investigated, detained, arrested or charged with his martial law order, but many observers doubt that authorities will forcefully detain him because and that there could be a conflict with his presidential security service.
Defense minister Yoon, the police chief and the head of the Seoul metropolitan police agency were arrested over their roles in the martial law case. Senior military and other government officials oppose investigations.
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