SEAToday.com, Seoul– South Korea's National Assembly voted on Saturday (12/14) to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol following his controversial decision to declare martial law on December 3, which was later rescinded.
The impeachment motion was supported by 204 out of 300 lawmakers present during the parliamentary session, surpassing the required two-thirds majority. Meanwhile, 85 lawmakers voted against the motion, eight votes were deemed invalid, and three lawmakers abstained.
Following the impeachment vote, Yoon's presidential duties are immediately suspended, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepping in as acting president.
Despite opposing the motion, Yoon’s ruling party, the People’s Power Party (PPP), participated in the vote after initially hesitating. However, 12 PPP members defied the party’s stance by voting in favor of impeachment.
The first impeachment attempt on December 7 failed due to a PPP-led boycott. Undeterred, opposition parties, including the Democratic Party and five others, reintroduced the motion on December 12.
The impeachment charges accuse Yoon of breaching the constitution by declaring martial law, which lasted only six hours before he repealed the decree on December 4 following legislative opposition. Additional charges allege Yoon ordered security forces to detain lawmakers during the martial law period.
The Constitutional Court will now review the case to determine whether Yoon will be permanently removed from office or reinstated. If removed, he would become South Korea's second impeached president after Park Geun-hye in 2017.
