BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, almost two weeks after his short-lived martial law controversy plunged the country into its worst political crisis for decades.
In dramatic scenes at the national assembly in Seoul, 204 lawmakers voted for an opposition motion to impeach Yoon, while an estimated 200,000 protesters outside demanded he be removed from office.
Saturday was the second opportunity in a week the assembly’s lawmakers had to begin the process of ousting Yoon, whose approval ratings have plummeted to 11%.
To succeed, the opposition parties, which together control 192 seats, needed at least eight members of Yoon’s People Power party (PPP) to vote in favour to reach the required two-thirds majority of 200 in the 300-seat chamber.
In the end, it appears that more PPP members were willing to throw their support behind impeachment.
South Korean TV said 85 MPs voted against, while three ballots were spoilt and eight were ruled invalid. Huge cheers erupted outside the chamber as the results were announced, and MPs left to applause from onlookers.
The spotlight will now move to the country’s constitutional court, whose six justices must vote unanimously in favour to uphold parliament’s decision.
Yoon will now be suspended from office while the court deliberates, with the prime minister, Han Duck-soo, becoming interim president. The court has 180 days to rule on Yoon’s future. If it approves the motion, South Koreans must elect a new president within 60 days of its ruling.
On the eve of the vote the opposition Democratic party leader, Lee Jae-myung, implored PPP lawmakers to side with the people “wailing out in the freezing streets”. “History will remember and record your choice,” Lee said.
Yoon, a conservative whose two and a half years in office have been blighted by scandal and policy gridlock, shocked the world early this month when he imposed martial law during his late-night address on December 3.
The edict would have suspended all political activity, banned protests, suspended the legal process and curtailed press freedoms, while police and troops would have been responsible for enforcing the order.
Yoon, however, was forced to reverse his decision just six hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to overturn it, in defiance of hundreds of troops who had been sent to the parliament building with orders to prevent MPs from meeting.
Outside, tens of thousands of people braved the bitter cold to call for Yoon’s exit. They shouted slogans, sang, danced and waved K-pop light sticks, which have rapidly become a symbol of resistance.
Yuri, a member of the K-pop band Girls’ Generation – whose song Into the New World has become a protest anthem – said she had paid for food for fans attending the rally. “Stay safe and take care of your health!” she said on a superfan chat platform.
Last weekend an initial impeachment motion failed after all but three of Yoon’s People Power party MPs boycotted the vote, leaving the chamber short of the minimum number of votes to pass the motion.
The political fallout from Yoon’s declaration has shaken confidence in South Korean politics, with Saturday’s vote seen inside the country and beyond as a test of its lawmakers’ commitment to protect the democratic gains it has made in the decades since the end of military rule.
Yoon, who this week insisted he would not resign over the debacle, said he was imposing martial law to root out what he condemned, without offering evidence, as “pro-North Korean, anti-state” forces inside parliament that were determined to paralyse the government.
His move drew immediate criticism, including from members of his own party, while the uncertainty of the past 12 days has rattled financial markets and caused concern in the US, the South’s biggest ally, Japan and the UK.
The change of heart among PPP lawmakers was critical to Yoon’s fate. His fellow party members had initially appeared unwilling to impeach him. Analysts believe they were hoping to arrange a more orderly exit instead.
That, though, proved impossible after Yoon, in a televised address this week, vowed to fight attempts to remove him “until the very end” and justified his imposition of martial law as a legitimate “act of governance”.
Opposition parties and many experts have accused Yoon of fomenting rebellion, citing a law clause that categorises as rebellion the staging of a riot against established state authorities to undermine the constitution.
Yoon has been banned from leaving the country, as law enforcement authorities investigate whether he and others involved in the martial law declaration committed rebellion, abuse of power and other crimes. If convicted, the leader of a rebellion plot can face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
