South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed on Saturday, the 14th of December, to fight for his political future after the opposition-led parliament impeached him in a second vote by 204 votes to 85, with three abstentions and eight invalid votes, over his attempt to impose martial law that shocked the entire nation, reports Reuters.
The Constitutional Court will decide in the next six months whether to impeach Yoon. If he is impeached, snap elections will be called.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in mid-term and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting President. Yoon is the second conservative president to be impeached – Park Geun-hye was ousted in 2017.
“Although I am stopping for now, the path I have walked with the nation over the past two and a half years, moving towards the future, must never stop. I will never give up,” said Yoon.
Considered a tough political survivor who is becoming increasingly isolated, he has faced personal scandals and disputes, staunch opposition and divisions within his own party.
Protesters outside Parliament who supported the impeachment of Yoon rejoiced at the news. In contrast, the pro-Yoon rally quickly dispersed after the news.
The impeachment motion was passed after opposition parties controlling 192 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly were joined by at least 12 members of Yoon’s People Power Party, thus reaching the two-thirds vote threshold needed for impeachment.
Last weekend, Yoon survived the first vote on impeachment when his party largely boycotted the vote, preventing parliament from taking a decision.
President Yoon declared martial law on the 3rd of December to fight “anti-government forces” and political opposition.
He is also under criminal investigation for alleged insurrection in connection with the declaration of martial law and has been banned by the authorities from travelling abroad.