On Saturday, the South Korean parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his bid to declare martial law the week before flopped. Among the 300 members, 204 voted in support of the impeachment motion for accusing the president of the insurrection charge, while 85 voted against this impeachment motion. There are reports that three legislators refused to take part in the vote, and eight of the votes were thrown out. The impeachment motion was passed by a two-thirds majority out of a full house, making it a very comfortable victory.
The motion accused Yoon of insurrection, claiming that he had planned riots and threats to the National Assembly and the public in general. Now that the impeachment has been approved, Yoon, the President of South Korea, has been removed from powers and duties. The South Korean President, asymptomatic and acting Prime Minister, Han Duck-soo, has stepped in as the interim president until the Constitutional Court makes its final decision. The court has 180 days to decide whether Yoon’s removal shall be sustained. If the court affirms the impeachment, Yoon will be the second South Korean president to be removed from power. It would also initiate a fresh presidential election within the next sixty days.
Yoon’s impeachment, therefore comes at a time when political instability is on the rise in South Korea. It’s approval ratings have dramatically dropped to a record low of 11% while mass protests engulf Seoul. In this agitation people are being not just demanding to remove Yoon but also to arrest the president. Due to the social upheavals, the metropolitan government has mobilized 1,000 safety personnel in the capital.
The impeachment comes in the wake of Yoon’s move to address the nation and declare martial law on December 3, which was seen as unconstitutional. Yoon justified his move by stating that it was in an effort to fight domestic political factions allegedly sympathetic to North Korea. However, it was viewed as a suicidal act and dangerous in sending signals that called for anxieties with South Korea’s security at a time when tension starts emerging between the two Koreas again.
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