International
South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol Impeached
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been impeached by the National Assembly following his controversial attempt to impose martial law, a move that has plunged the nation into political chaos midway through his presidency.
The unicameral legislature voted 204 to 85 in favour of impeachment on Saturday, marking the second such vote in just over a week. Three members abstained, and eight votes were declared invalid. The secret ballot required a two-thirds majority, with all 300 members casting their votes.
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As a result of the impeachment, Yoon is automatically suspended from office while the Constitutional Court reviews the case. During this period, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president.
The court now has up to 180 days to decide Yoon’s fate. If it upholds the National Assembly’s decision, Yoon will become only the second South Korean president to be successfully impeached.
The first was Park Geun-hye, another conservative leader, who was impeached in December 2016 and officially removed from office in March 2017.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) initially boycotted the first impeachment vote last week, preventing a quorum. However, party leader Han Dong-hoon later encouraged participation, despite the party’s official opposition to the move.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s vote, at least seven PPP lawmakers indicated their support for Yoon’s impeachment, leaving just one additional vote needed to reach the 200-vote threshold required.
This political upheaval signals a critical moment for South Korea’s democratic institutions, as the Constitutional Court’s forthcoming decision will shape the nation’s leadership and political trajectory.
Around 200,000 people gathered in the streets of Seoul for rival rallies both in support of and against President Yoon ahead of the impeachment vote.
At the start of the National Assembly session, Speaker Woo Won-shik remarked that “the weight of history” rested on the shoulders of assembly members.
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Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, called Yoon “the ringleader of the insurrection,” emphasizing that the impeachment vote was the “only way” to protect South Korea’s Constitution.
Despite the growing fallout from his martial law declaration and a widening investigation into his inner circle, Yoon has remained unapologetic and defiant.
His approval rating, already low, has dropped further to just 11 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday. This marks a significant decline from an earlier poll in November, which showed his approval at 19 percent just before the martial law announcement.
The same poll revealed that 75 percent of the public now supports his impeachment.
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