South Korea: Impeachment Vote on Horizon for Yoon Following Failed Martial Law Attempt
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Seoul, Dec 13 (NationPress) A second motion to impeach South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law declaration was reported to the National Assembly on Friday, with the nation reeling from Yoon's December 3 invocation of martial law that triggered unprecedented political turmoil.
Yoon has remained defiant, asserting on Thursday that declaring martial law was "within the realm of executive authority, which is not subject to judicial review" and he would fight "until the last moment."
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and other opposition factions had initially planned to commence voting on the motion at 5 p.m. on Saturday, but the office of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik moved the timing to 4 p.m., according to reports from Yonhap news agency.
DP leader Lee Jae-myung urged lawmakers from the ruling party to support the motion, emphasizing that impeachment is the "fastest and surest way to end this chaos."
At least eight lawmakers from the ruling party must vote on Saturday for the second impeachment motion to pass. To date, seven ruling party lawmakers have publicly indicated their support.
By law, an impeachment motion must be voted on within 24 to 72 hours after being reported to a plenary session.
The first impeachment motion against Yoon was withdrawn last Saturday as a majority of ruling party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Following this withdrawal, the DP pledged to pursue Yoon's impeachment weekly.
The second motion includes allegations that martial law troops and police attempted to arrest lawmakers under Yoon's leadership.
Allegations concerning First Lady Kim Keon Hee, including her suspected involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations via a power broker, have been omitted from the latest motion.
Later on Friday, the newly elected floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) stated that the party would determine its official position on the impeachment vote on Saturday.
"Currently, the party's official position is to vote down the impeachment, but it's an outcome of discussions among lawmakers," said Kweon Seong-dong, a close ally of Yoon, during a press briefing.
During the first motion's vote, 108 PPP lawmakers, save for three, exited the parliamentary chamber in accordance with the party's official decision to boycott.
For the motion to be successful, at least eight PPP lawmakers must back it. So far, seven have publicly stated their intention to support impeachment.
"If the party adopts an official position, as floor leader, all I can do is appeal to lawmakers to respect and adhere to it," Kweon noted, adding that there is no mechanism to compel compliance.
In another indicator of growing public discontent regarding the martial law attempt, Yoon's approval rating plummeted to a historic low of 11 percent, based on a survey conducted by Gallup Korea involving 1,002 adults.
In the same survey, 75 percent of respondents expressed support for Yoon's impeachment, while 21 percent were opposed.
If the motion passes, the Constitutional Court will decide whether to reinstate or remove Yoon from office.
If upheld, Yoon would become the second president in South Korea's history to be ousted via impeachment, following former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.
