South Korea votes to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol
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Seoul: In a historic development, the South Korean parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday. The move has been cheered by critics saying that it was another defiant moment in the nation's resilient, democratic journey, the Associated Press reported.
The National Assembly passed the motion 204-85 in a floor vote. Yoon's presidential powers and duties will be suspended, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's No. 2 official, will take over his authority once copies of a document on the impeachment are delivered to Yoon and to the Constitutional Court.
The court has up to 180 days to determine whether to dismiss Yoon as president or restore his powers. If he's thrown out of office, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.
It was the second National Assembly vote on Yoon's impeachment motion. Last Saturday, Yoon survived an impeachment vote after most ruling party lawmakers boycotted the floor vote. Some People Power Party lawmakers had since announced their intentions to vote for Yoon's impeachment in a second vote, as public protests against Yoon intensified and his approval rating plummeted.
Yoon's December 3 imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, lasted only six hours but has caused massive political tumult, halted diplomatic activities and rattled financial markets. Yoon was forced to lift his decree after parliament unanimously voted to overturn it.
After declaring martial law, Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament to try to impede its vote on the decree before they withdrew after the parliament rejected it. No major violence occurred.
Opposition parties and many experts accuse Yoon of rebellion, citing a law that categorises rebellion as the staging of a riot against established state authorities to undermine the constitution. They also say that a president in South Korea is allowed to declare martial law only during wartime or similar emergencies and has no right to suspend parliament's operations even under martial law.