South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached by the National Assembly over his attempt to impose martial law in the country, Al Jazeera reported. The members of the unicameral National Assembly on Saturday voted 204 to 85 to impeach Yoon, marking the second such vote in eight days.
Three members of the National Assembly abstained from voting, while eight votes were declared invalid. The voting was conducted through a secret ballot, with a two-thirds majority required for impeachment. All 300 members of the assembly participated in the vote.
Audible gasps were heard from the chamber when the result of the vote was announced. Thousands of protesters gathered outside the assembly welcomed the announcement with applause and loud cheers. However, the political impasse in South Korea persists, as Yoon has vowed to contest his case before the court, Al Jazeera reported.
Following his impeachment, Yoon was suspended from office while South Korea’s Constitutional Court deliberates his fate. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as the interim president, according to the Al Jazeera report.
In a statement, Han pledged to “devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance.” The Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide Yoon Suk Yeol’s future. If the court upholds his removal, Yoon would become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached. In 2016, then-President Park Geun-hye was impeached and removed from office in March 2017.
Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the first impeachment vote, which took place last week. Since then, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon urged party leaders to participate in the vote, even though the official stance of the PPP opposes Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.
Before the voting began, at least seven PPP members indicated they would vote to impeach Yoon, implying that only one more vote was needed to reach the 200-vote threshold required for impeachment. Hours before the impeachment vote, an estimated 200,000 people took to the streets of Seoul in rival rallies both supporting and opposing Yoon.
At the opening of the National Assembly meeting, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik stated that “the weight of history” was in the hands of the assembly members. Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, declared, “Yoon is the ringleader of the insurrection,” and called the impeachment vote the “only way” to “safeguard the constitution” of South Korea.
Yoon has remained unapologetic and defiant about his decision to impose martial law as investigations into his inner circle continue to widen, Al Jazeera reported.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, Yoon’s approval rating has dropped to 11 percent. A previous survey conducted in November had shown an approval rating of 19 percent, prior to the imposition of martial law. The same poll revealed that 75 percent of the public now supports his impeachment.
(ANI & Reuters)