Protesters celebrate as the parliament votes to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his decision to impose martial law, in front of National Assembly on Dec. 14 in Seoul.Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images
Lawmakers in South Korea overwhelmingly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, 11 days after his shocking declaration of martial law plunged the country into political chaos and sparked immediate calls for his removal.
Mr. Yoon survived an initial impeachment vote last weekend, but revelations over the week about his machinations in seeking military rule, as well as a speech Thursday in which he defended his actions and refused to resign, appear to have alienated sufficient members of his People Power Party, 12 of whom joined with the opposition in voting for Mr. Yoon’s removal Saturday.
As a result of the vote, Mr. Yoon’s powers are immediately suspended and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo becomes acting president while the case is referred to the Constitutional Court, which will decide Mr. Yoon’s ultimate fate.
If his impeachment is upheld, a snap election must take place within 60 days.
There was jubilation outside the National Assembly in downtown Seoul on Saturday, where thousands of anti-Yoon protesters had gathered for a candlelit vigil. Spurred by a growing, nationwide movement in favour of Mr. Yoon’s impeachment, opposition lawmakers had vowed to keep introducing motions to remove him for as long as necessary.
Mr. Yoon declared martial law late into the evening of Dec. 3, describing the opposition — which had blocked his budget and was investigating top ministers and Mr. Yoon’s wife on corruption allegations — as “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens.” He ordered troops to the Assembly, where senior officers say they were given orders to arrest top lawmakers and prevent them from gathering.
But communication delays and confusion in the chain of command gave both opposition and ruling party lawmakers enough time to call a vote in the Assembly and unanimously overturn Mr. Yoon’s edict, ending martial law just six hours after it was declared.
Civil society groups, labour unions and opposition parties soon demanded Mr. Yoon’s impeachment, as did even some members of his own party. But People Power leaders had attempted to massage the process, encouraging Mr. Yoon to resign instead, to avoid an election which would most likely result in Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung becoming president.
People Power was successful in blocking an initial impeachment motion last weekend when ruling party lawmakers boycotted the chamber, preventing a necessary quorum.
Mr. Yoon’s support within the party soon fell apart however amid revelations of just how close the country came to outright chaos: as well as allegedly masterminding the arrest of top politicians, Mr. Yoon’s now former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been accused in parliamentary hearings of seeking to spark a conflict with North Korea as a means of justifying martial law, which can only be imposed by the president during a state of emergency.
A defiant speech by Mr. Yoon on Thursday appears to have been the last straw for many People Power lawmakers. In it, he vowed to “fight to the end” and described his martial law edict as a “highly calibrated political judgment” to “protect the nation and normalize state affairs.”
After Mr. Yoon’s speech, People Power leader Han Dong-hoon told members they should “adopt a vote for impeachment as party policy,” describing the President’s address as “akin to confessing to insurrection.”
The opposition needed eight ruling party lawmakers to join them in order to reach the required supermajority in the legislature, and on Saturday they gained the support of a dozen, bringing the total number of votes in favour of impeaching Mr. Yoon to 204, with just 85 against.
Mr. Yoon’s impeachment now goes to the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days to decide on the case. Six votes are required to uphold the impeachment on the normally-nine-member court, but three seats are currently empty, meaning a decision on Mr. Yoon’s case must be unanimous.
There has been some speculation in South Korean media that Mr. Yoon refused to resign as he was gambling on the court rejecting his impeachment. Earlier this week, Democratic Party spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said the Assembly will work to fill the seats by the end of the year.
Mr. Yoon is the second conservative South Korean president to be impeached in a row, after Park Geun-hye’s removal on corruption charges in 2017.
Like Ms. Park, who was later jailed, Mr. Yoon also faces additional legal difficulties, with police pursuing an investigation into whether his botched martial law declaration was an unconstitutional attempt to seize power. He is currently barred from leaving the country.
Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said Mr. Yoon’s impeachment was “only the first step” in addressing the aftermath of Dec. 3, vowing to push through a full investigation into Mr. Yoon and other “accomplices of the insurrection.”
Speaking to reporters after Saturday’s vote, Mr. Park hailed a “historic victory for democracy,” according to the Yonhap News Agency. He gave credit to “all those who gathered in front of the National Assembly and passionately cried out for the protection of the Constitution and democracy.”
With files from Reuters