SSouth Korean lawmakers have voted to impeach South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, following his declaration of martial law this month which sparked widespread protests and calls for his removal by citizens.
He will formally receive a copy of the impeachment resolution soon which would officially suspend his presidential powers.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will take over as acting president while the country’s Constitutional Court takes up the matter. The court has 180 days to rule on the impeachment motion, which if confirmed will trigger a snap election to choose a new president.
A dozen members of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party joined opposition lawmakers to pass the threshold of 200 votes — two-thirds of the legislature — required for his impeachment. The final vote was 204 to 85.
Outside the National Assembly, loud cheers washed over a large crowd of pro-impeachment protesters, some of whom had set up free coffee and food stalls for fellow participants.
“This is a triumph of democracy and of the South Korean people,” Park Chan-dae, the opposition party floor leader, said after the vote.
Until now, many of Yoon’s party members had resisted backing the opposition-led push to impeach him, saying theSouthy would seek an “orderly resignation” instead.
But recent developments made that position untenable.
Numerous testimonies emerged contradicting Yoon’s claim that declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 was meant only as a show of force to the opposition-controlled National Assembly — which he described as filled with “anti-state” saboteurs and North Korea sympathizers
If the impeachment is confirmed by the Constitutional Court, Yoon will become the fourth South Korean president — out of eight total — to be jailed or ousted since the nation democratized in 1987 after decades of authoritarian rule.
