S.Korea: National Assembly poised to vote on President Yoon’s impeachment
Seoul: The National Assembly is poised to vote on Saturday for an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol over his surprise declaration and subsequent lifting of martial law, which left South Korea in political turmoil.
The political future of Yoon has been thrown into question after he abruptly declared martial law on Tuesday night, attempting to prohibit all political party activities and control the media. It was lifted six hours later after being rejected by 190 lawmakers in Parliament, Yonhap news agency reported.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and five other minor opposition parties earlier submitted an impeachment motion, arguing Yoon’s martial law declaration constituted violations of the Constitution and other laws.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass the motion, which would need support from at least eight lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP).
Among the PPP lawmakers, Representative Cho Kyoung-tae has expressed his support for Yoon’s impeachment, the first such case for a ruling party lawmaker.
On Friday, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon called for the immediate suspension of Yoon’s presidential duties. However, the ruling party later decided to maintain its stance of blocking the impeachment motion.
If the motion is passed, the Constitutional Court will decide whether to reinstate or remove Yoon from office.
If upheld by the court, Yoon would be the second President to be impeached since former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.
The DP will also seek to hold a revote on a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into First Lady Kim Keo Hee’s corruption and election interference allegations during the plenary session on Saturday.
The bill, vetoed by Yoon for the third time, requires a two-thirds majority to override the veto.