South Korea: Impeached, President Yoon to go, but vows “not to give up”
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached on Saturday after his failed attempt to impose martial law in the country early this month, vowed “not to give up,” the media reported.
Within a week, this was the second attempt to impeach President Yoon. Last Saturday, he survived an impeachment vote in the National Assembly after most ruling party lawmakers boycotted the floor vote. But on this Saturday, some of his party members, under public pressure, cross-voted to remove him from office.
Yoon will now remain suspended from office pending a decision by South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to rule on his removal or reinstatement. It will determine whether Yoon should be formally removed or reinstated.
Soon after the South Korean parliament voted to sack him, he said he would “step aside,” but would “not give up,” and do his best for the country until the last minute.
“Although I must now step aside for a while, the journey toward the future… must never come to a stop,” he said in a televised address, the media said.
Public suspicion about the controversial and allegedly corrupt First Lady Kim Keon-hee’s influence on her husband, President Yoon, grew in recent months, with speculation that his martial law decree was a desperate effort to shield her from scrutiny.
He has been barred from leaving the country and could become the first South Korean president to face arrest while in office.
If Yoon is permanently removed, he will become only the second South Korean president to be impeached after Park Geun-hye in 2017, who was ousted over corruption charges.
Earlier, South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach President Yoon following his attempt to impose martial law in the country on December 3. The controversial move was withdrawn within hours under popular protests and military reluctance.
Of the 300 lawmakers, 204 voted in favor of impeachment on charges of insurrection, while 85 voted against it. Three lawmakers abstained, and eight votes were nullified.
The motion, which required a two-thirds majority to pass, accused President Yoon of committing insurrection by staging a series of riots and threatening the National Assembly and the public.
After his impeachment, Yoon’s presidential powers and duties will be suspended, and the country’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will take over as Acting President, with curtailed and uncertain powers.
His impeachment stemmed from charges of insurrection, brought 11 days after Yoon deployed military troops to the National Assembly in an attempt to block legislators from rejecting his martial law order.
This unprecedented action, the first attempt to impose military rule in South Korea in 45 years, sparked nationwide protests and plunged the country into political turmoil.
Amid mounting protests, Yoon resisted calls to resign, pledging to fight the impeachment efforts. The Opposition required eight votes from Yoon’s own People Power Party to pass the motion. While the ruling party initially boycotted the first attempt, Saturday’s vote succeeded with cross-party support amid escalating public outrage.
Hours before the National Assembly convened, thousands of protesters gathered outside, brandishing signs that read, “Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, the Ringleader of Insurrection!”
The impeachment bill accused Yoon of violating the Constitution, which permits martial law only in times of war or national emergency. By deploying troops to prevent legislative action, he was accused of insurrection.
Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, along with ex-chiefs of the national and Seoul metropolitan police, were already arrested on charges of aiding the alleged insurrection.
