Yoon Suk-yeol, President of South Korea
Impeachment approved with support from members of Yoon Suk-yeol’s own party, which declared martial law on December 3. Prime Minister will assume the role of interim president.
The South Korean parliament approved this Saturday the dismissal of President Yoon Suk-yeol, with the support of members of the President’s own party, for Yoon having martial law on December 3rd.
All 300 deputies of the National Assembly (parliament) participated in the process, with the result being 204 votes in favor of the motion presented by the opposition to remove Yoon, 85 against, three abstentions and eight invalid votes.
To approve the motion, at least 200 votes in favor were needed to obtain a two-thirds majority in the hemicycle and, although the vote is secret, at least 12 deputies from the conservative People’s Power Party (PPP), in power, had to support impeachment, as opposition parties have a total of 192 seats.
Yoon will be suspended and the prime minister will take over as acting president. The constitutional court has just six months to rule on the dismissal.
Yoon and his allies are currently being investigated and are .
The failure of martial law caused political chaos in South Korea. Former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, accused of rebellion and abuse of power, tried to commit suicide after his arrest and the two main heads of the police were also detained.
Martial law, the first in more than 40 years, , but triggered a political crisis and large popular protests.
