Seoul: South Korea’s parliament voted on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration earlier this month. The National Assembly passed the motion in a 204-85 vote.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will take over as acting president while the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss Yoon or restore his powers.
Participants attend a rally to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. The signs read “Immediately impeachment, disband the ruling People Power Party.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)Credit: AP
The court has up to 180 days to come to a decision. If Yoon is thrown out of office, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.
Yoon last week survived an initial impeachment vote after most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a floor vote. Public protests against Yoon have since intensified and his approval rating has plummeted.
Tens of thousands of people have braved the bitter cold and poured onto the streets of the capital, Seoul, every night for the past two weeks, calling for Yoon’s ouster and arrest.
South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol appears in television.Credit: Getty Images
Smaller groups of Yoon’s conservative supporters – still in the thousands – have also been rallying in Seoul, denouncing attempts to impeach the president. Both rallies have largely been peaceful.
Yoon’s martial law imposition, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, lasted only six hours, but it has caused massive political tumult, halted diplomatic activities and rattled financial markets. Yoon was forced to lift his decree after parliament unanimously voted to overturn it.
After declaring martial law, Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament to try to impede its vote on the decree before they withdrew after the parliament rejected it. No major violence occurred.
