Photo credit: The Japan Times
South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, almost two weeks after his short-lived declaration of martial law plunged the country into its worst political crisis for decades.
The Guardian reports that the 204 lawmakers voted for an opposition motion to impeach Yoon. About 200,000 protesters outside also demanded he be thrown out of office.
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, 12 PPP members were willing to support impeachment.
Although Yoon was immediately suspended, he called on South Koreans to support the acting president, Han Duck. But he vowed to continue fighting for his political future as the impeachment process enters its next stage.
Han promised to ensure stability after Yoon’s impeachment. “I will give all my strength and efforts to stabilize the government,” he said.
The six justices of the country’s constitutional court must vote unanimously in favour of the parliament’s decision.
Meanwhile, Yoon will remain suspended from office pending te court’s deliberations. It 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.
