South Korea’s conservative president, Yoon Suk-yeol, intends to remain in power, and his party has vowed to oppose his impeachment, which the opposition seeks to bring to a parliamentary vote on Saturday. This follows the president’s failed attempt to impose martial law in the country.
To widespread astonishment, President Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday night, attempting to silence the parliament by deploying the military, only to backtrack six hours later under pressure from lawmakers and protesters.
On Wednesday, six opposition parties filed an impeachment motion, accusing the president of “serious violations of the Constitution and the law.” This motion is set to be voted on Saturday at 7 PM (local time, 12 PM Greek time), according to Yonhap News Agency.
The deeply unpopular president is also facing a police investigation for “insurrection,” South Korean police announced today.
Prosecutors have also launched investigations into President Yoon, the Minister of Interior, and the now-former Defense Minister over their roles in the attempted imposition of martial law, Yonhap reported.
The resigned Defense Minister, Kim Yong-hyun, has been barred from leaving the country during the investigation, according to Yonhap. The other two do not face such restrictions.
The president’s office informed reporters that Yoon would not make any public statements today.
According to a poll released on Wednesday by research firm Realmeter, over seven out of ten South Koreans (73.6%) support the impeachment motion, while 24% oppose it, and 2.4% have no opinion.
The opposition holds a total of 192 seats in the 300-member parliament, while the remaining 108 seats are held by lawmakers from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party.
As the impeachment motion requires a two-thirds majority to pass, the defection of at least eight lawmakers from the president’s party would be necessary for Yoon’s removal.
Today, Chu Kyung-ho, leader of the People Power Party in parliament, stated that the party would vote against the impeachment of Yoon. “All 108 lawmakers of the People Power Party will remain united to reject the president’s impeachment,” he told reporters.
However, Chu added that he had asked Yoon to leave the party. The People Power Party “does not seek to defend the president’s unconstitutional martial law,” he assured.
If the impeachment motion passes, Yoon will be suspended from his duties pending confirmation by the Constitutional Court. If the court approves, Yoon will be removed from office, and new presidential elections will be held within 60 days.
Also read: South Korea DefMin resigns after martial law imposition attempt
Source: ANA-MPA
