Attempt to impeach South Korean president fails as ruling party boycotts vote
Former defence minister arrested Sunday over alleged role in president's declaration of martial law
A South Korean legislative push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law fell through on Saturday after most lawmakers from his conservative governing party boycotted the vote.
The defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon's ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president's impeachment, but the leader of his own party said the president would effectively be excluded from his duties before eventually stepping down.
Yoon's martial law declaration earlier this week drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon's impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.
Impeaching Yoon required support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion had 192 seats, but only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn't reach 200.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result "very regrettable" and an embarrassing moment for the country's democracy that has been closely watched by the world.
"The failure to hold a qualified vote on this matter means we were not even able to exercise the democratic procedure of deciding on a critical national issue," he said.
Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday.
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party said it would not give up its attempt to impeach Yoon. But Yoon's People Power Party said it would find a "more orderly, responsible" way to resolve the crisis than impeachment of the president. Many experts say some ruling party lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties' efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further.
If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days.
Members repeatedly called to vote
Woo repeatedly urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, waiting several hours for them to come.
At one point, Democratic Party leaders visited a hall on the floor below the main chamber where PPP lawmakers were gathered, attempting to persuade them to vote. After being blocked from entering, they angrily accused the conservatives' leadership of preventing its lawmakers from voting freely.
Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won't shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country's political turmoil, "including matters related to my term in office."
"The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot," Yoon said.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife.
In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a "den of criminals" bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate "shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces."
The turmoil resulting from Yoon's bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan.
Troops had encircled parliament building
Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon's martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers.
Yoon's speech fuelled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of accepting impeachment, as a way to ease public anger over the marital law and facilitate Yoon's early exit from office.
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon's speech was "greatly disappointing" and the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon's martial law "unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup."
The passage of Yoon's impeachment motion appeared more likely Friday when the chair of Yoon's party called for his removal on Friday, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people densely packed several blocks of roads leading up to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon's ouster.
Protesters also gathered in front of PPP's headquarters near the Assembly, angrily shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon.
A smaller crowd of Yoon's supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional.
Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon's wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon's party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers.
On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon's martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country's defence counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of "anti-state activities."
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon had ordered him to help the defence counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.
The Defence Ministry said Friday it suspended three military commanders, including the head of the defence counterintelligence unit, over their involvement in enforcing martial law.
Vice-Defence Minister Kim Seon Ho has told parliament that Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Opposition parties accused Kim Yong Hyun of recommending to Yoon to enforce martial law.
Kim resigned Thursday, and prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him. He was then arrested on Sunday over his alleged role in Yoon's declaration of martial law, prosecutors said.
The prosecution's special investigative team said they seized his mobile phone after his arrest, it said in a brief statement to reporters. National police also raided Kim's office on Sunday as part of an investigation into claims of treason.
Three minority opposition parties filed a complaint with the prosecution against Yoon, Kim and martial law commander Park An-su, accusing them of insurrection. If convicted, the crime of leading an insurrection is punishable by death or life imprisonment, with or without prison labour.
With files from Reuters