Lawmaker Ahn Chul-soo sits alone, the only People Power Party lawmaker who remains in the voting chamber, during the plenary session for the impeachment vote of President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly on Dec. 7 in Seoul.Pool/Getty Images
South Korea’s opposition vowed to keep fighting to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol after he survived an impeachment vote Saturday over a botched declaration of martial law earlier in the week that sparked political chaos and mass protests nationwide.
After the vote, however, People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon said the party had decided that Mr. Yoon would resign.
“The declaration of martial law was a clear and serious violation of the law,” Han told reporters.
Mr. Han has a history of clashes with Mr. Yoon, however, and it was unclear if he was speaking for all PPP members. There was no word yet from Mr. Yoon on Mr. Han’s comments.
Mr. Yoon said earlier Saturday in a televised address that he would put his fate in the hands of the PPP, which Mr. Han said later was effectively a promise to leave office early.
“The People Power Party will pursue an orderly departure of the president in order to minimize confusion for the people,” Mr. Han said, adding that until Mr. Yoon leaves, he would be “effectively excluded from his duties, and the prime minister will consult with the party to manage state affairs.”
The Democratic Party opposition ridiculed that idea as “absurd and illegal.”
“Neither the people, nor the law, nor anyone has given Han the power to remove (Yoon) from office,” the party said in a statement, saying impeachment is the only way.
Asked when Mr. Han will announce a roadmap for ending Mr. Yoon’s term early, a source close to Mr. Han said it was too early to say.
Protests seemed sure to intensify as members of the ruling People Power Party boycotted a vote in the National Assembly on Saturday evening, robbing the opposition of a quorum needed to impeach Mr. Yoon. In angry scenes, Democratic Party lawmakers read out the names of their absent colleagues, demanding they return and cast a vote.
The opposition controls 182 seats of the 300-person chamber, but needs the support of eight members of the ruling party to reach the required two-thirds majority to impeach the president.
After several hours of trying to force their colleagues to return to the chamber, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, a Democrat, called off the vote, calling the situation “regrettable.”
“The South Korean people were watching our decision today. Nations around the world were watching us,” he said. “It is utterly unfortunate that the vote effectively didn’t occur.”
People take part in a protest calling for the ouster of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 7.ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images
Outside, thousands rallied to demand Mr. Yoon’s removal, as they have done all week. Labour organizations have vowed an indefinite strike if the president is not impeached, while civil society groups are gearing up for potentially weeks if not months of protests — similar to those that preceded the 2017 impeachment of then President Park Geun-hye.
Since his fateful decision Tuesday to declare martial law — rescinded just six hours later after lawmakers unanimously voted to overturn it — Mr. Yoon has been fighting for his political life, lobbying members of his party not to defect. A clear split within People Power emerged, with party leader Mr. Han and a handful of other members saying Mr. Yoon was dangerous and needed to be removed, but many of their fellow conservatives loathe to spark an election that would likely lead to victory for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.
At several times this week, it appeared Mr. Yoon was poised to resign. In an address to the nation Saturday morning, he apologized for declaring martial law and pledged to try not do so again — after military and defence officials had to issue public declarations Friday they would not follow such an order amid fears of a second attempt.
“I am sincerely sorry and apologize to the people who must have been very surprised,” Mr. Yoon said in a brief speech, adding that the martial law edict had been an act of “desperation” and that he recognized it had caused “concerns and inconvenience.”
“I will not avoid legal and political responsibility related to this martial law declaration,” Mr. Yoon said. But he did not resign, instead laying his fate at the feet of People Power lawmakers.
After the motion was tabled Saturday, only three members of Mr. Yoon’s party — not including Mr. Han, despite his earlier comments — broke with the President to vote for his impeachment.
Mr. Woo castigated the ruling party from the floor of the chamber.
“You must vote,” he said, according to the Yonhap News Agency. “That is the duty of a patriot, a National Assembly member of the Republic of Korea, and an institution that represents the people.”
While Mr. Yoon survived Saturday, the pressure the opposition can bring on him is immense. As well as nationwide protests and strikes, lawmakers can introduce a new impeachment bill every week, and can also impeach members of Mr. Yoon’s cabinet with a simple majority, likely paralyzing government functions.
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung (C) speaks after the failed attempt to impeach South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 7.JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images
Mr. Lee, the opposition leader, said his party would not give up on trying to punish Mr. Yoon for his actions this week. He apologized to the South Korean people for not delivering Saturday, promising to try again as soon as possible.
Any successful impeachment in the National Assembly will see the case referred to the Constitutional Court, where a majority of the nine justices must rule in favour of stripping the person of office. If Mr. Yoon is removed, South Korea’s prime minister will become acting president until elections can be held within 60 days.
It is the threat of those elections that is likely hanging over People Power lawmakers. In the run-up to Ms. Park’s impeachment, her Liberty Korea Party fractured, and the conservative movement suffered heavy losses in subsequent elections, barely recovering by 2022 when Mr. Yoon won the presidency by just 0.7 per cent of the vote.
“We cannot impeach the president tomorrow and hand over the regime to Lee Jae-myung’s Democratic Party,” People Power lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun told reporters earlier this week.
With a report from Reuters