South Korean lawmakers yesterday voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempt to impose martial law, which sparked massive protests across the country.
He was suspended after some members of Yoon’s own People Power Party (PPP) voted with the opposition – though the decision still needs to be ratified by the constitutional court, as Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has taken over as acting president.
Thousands of anti-Yoon protesters celebrated outside the National Assembly on Saturday evening after the impeachment motion passed, with the crowd singing as fireworks broke out overhead.
Yoon has vowed to fight on and said he “will never give up”, describing the vote as a temporary pause to his presidency.
“I will take your criticism, praise, and support to heart and do my best for the country until the end,” Yoon added.
His defiant words are a marked change from his apologetic tone earlier this month over his short-lived martial law declaration.
Yoon attempted to impose military rule after months of political deadlock, saying it was necessary to block supposed North Korean efforts to undermine his government – but the declaration was overturned after a matter of hours by MPs.
There has been strong public support for Yoon’s impeachment, with recent polls finding three-quarters of South Koreans wanted to see him go.
Following days of public pressure the PPP had decided to let its lawmakers vote on the motion, after an effort to impeach Yoon last week failed when its lawmakers boycotted the hearing.
Yesterday, the impeachment motion reached the two-thirds threshold needed to pass after 12 members of Yoon’s party voted in favour.
“To the people, we hope your end of year will be a little happier now, and all your cancelled year-end celebrations will be restored,” said National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, as he announced the result.
“The future of the Republic of Korea and our hope is in the hands of the people, our hope is strong,” Woo, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party, added.
The constitutional court now has 180 days to rule on whether Yoon’s impeachment should be upheld or whether he can return to office. If it rules in favour of impeachment, an election for the next president must be called within 60 days.
Acting President Han said his focus is to “stabilise the situation” and “bring back normalcy for the people”.