South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided an opposition attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law, as most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny him the two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers.
Dropping the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and worsen political chaos in South Korea, with a poll suggesting a majority of South Koreans support impeaching the president. Yoon’s declaration on martial law has drawn criticism from his own conservative ruling party, the People Power Party, but he is also determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment, apparently because he fears losing the presidency for the benefit of the liberals.
After the motion failed, members of the Democratic Party, the main liberal opposition party, gathered inside the National Assembly, chanting slogans calling for Yoon’s impeachment or resignation. Party leader Park Chan-dae said he would soon prepare a new impeachment motion.
“We will surely remove Yoon Suk Yeol, who poses the greatest risk to the Republic of Korea,” party leader Lee Jae-myung said. “We will surely get this country back to normal before Christmas Day or the end of the year.”
Although he escaped the impeachment attempt, many experts fear Yoon will not be able to fulfill his remaining two and a half years in office. They say some ruling party lawmakers could potentially join opposition parties’ efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands to do so increase further.
Protests against Yoon multiply
People gather during a rally organized by conservative groups supporting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and denouncing opposition party lawmakers who demand the president’s impeachment, in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday 7 December 2024, following the president’s short-lived martial war. declaration of law. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man).
J.M.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered on several blocks leading to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing. Protesters also gathered outside the PPP headquarters near the Assembly, angrily shouting at lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon supporters, which still appeared to number in the thousands, gathered in separate streets of Seoul, denouncing the impeachment attempt as unconstitutional.
Yoon’s impeachment required the support of two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The Democratic Party and five other small opposition parties, which tabled the motion, together have 192 seats. But only three PPP MPs participated in the vote. The motion was abandoned without a vote count because the number of votes did not reach 200.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result “very regrettable” and an embarrassing moment for the country’s democracy, which is closely watched by the world.
“The failure to hold a qualified vote on this issue means we have not even been able to exercise the democratic procedure to decide a crucial national issue,” he said.
Get the latest national news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts sent directly to you as they happen.
Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after the opening of a new parliamentary session next Wednesday.
If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election for his replacement must take place within 60 days.
Yoon apologizes for the turmoil
Earlier on Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he would not shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and vowing not to make another attempt to impose martial law. . He said he would leave it to his party to chart a path forward through the country’s political turmoil, “including issues related to my tenure.”
“The declaration of this martial law was born out of my despair. But during its implementation, it caused public anxiety and inconvenience. I am very sorry and I sincerely apologize to the people who must have been very shocked,” Yoon said.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and has struggled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving him and his wife . In his martial law announcement Tuesday night, Yoon called Parliament a “den of criminals” that bogs down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea supporters and anti-North Korea forces.” states”.
The unrest resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly thought-out coup has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked concern among major diplomatic partners like the United States and Japan.
On Tuesday evening, special forces troops surrounded the parliament building and army helicopters flew overhead, but the army withdrew after the National Assembly voted unanimously to cancel the decree, requiring Yoon to raise it before dawn on Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen ruling party lawmakers voted to reject Yoon’s martial law decree, alongside opposition lawmakers. PPP then decided to oppose Yoon’s impeachment motion.
Yoon’s speech fueled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of agreeing to impeachment, to ease public anger over of matrimonial law and to facilitate Yoon’s early exit from office.
Lee told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “very disappointing” and that the only path forward was his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon’s martial law an “unconstitutional and illegal rebellion or coup.”
Lawmakers on Saturday voted for the first time on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of stock price manipulation involving Yoon’s wife. Some MPs from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the room after the vote, sparking angry shouts from opposition MPs.
Yoon accused of ordering arrest of politicians
On Friday, PPP Chairman Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon’s declaration on martial law, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law, Yoon had ordered the commander of the country’s defense counterintelligence to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians on “anti-espionage” charges. -state activities.
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door news briefing Friday that Yoon ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to arrest key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers present at the meeting.
The Defense Ministry announced Friday that it had suspended three military commanders, including the head of the defense counterintelligence unit, for their involvement in the enforcement of martial law.
Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho told Parliament that Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Opposition parties accused Kim of recommending Yoon implement martial law.
Kim resigned Thursday and prosecutors imposed a foreign travel ban on him.