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09-12-2024
Lawmakers in South Korea have narrowly failed to impeach the nation’s president over his short-lived attempt to declare martial law.
A bill to censure Yoon Suk Yeol fell five votes short of the 200 needed to pass, with many members of parliament in the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotting the vote.
The South Korean premier sparked widespread shock and anger when he declared military rule associated with authoritarianism in the country on Tuesday, in a bid to break out of a political stalemate.
Yoon’s declaration was quickly overturned by parliament, before his government rescinded it a few hours later in the midst of large protests.
The impeachment bill needed a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to pass, meaning at least eight PPP MPs would have to vote in favor.
However, all but three walked out of the chamber earlier on Saturday.
One of those who remained, Cho Kyung-tae, credited Yoon’s apology for the martial law decree on Saturday morning – after three days out of public view – as having influenced his decision not to back impeachment this time.
“The president’s apology and his willingness to step down early, as well as delegating all political agendas to the party, did have an impact on my decision,” he told the BBC ahead of the vote.
Cho said he believed impeachment would hand the presidency to the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Lee Jae-myung.
He added that Yoon’s “irrational and absurd decision” to declare martial law had “overshadowed” what he described as the DPK’s “many extreme actions” while in power.
DPK lawmaker Lee Unjoo told media that she had cried when PPP politicians walked out.
“We did know there was a possibility they might boycott the vote, but we didn’t believe they would actually go through with it when tens of thousands of citizens were watching right outside,” she said.
Following Saturday’s vote, Lee insisted his party “will not give up” with its attempts to impeach Yoon, who he said had become “the worst risk” to South Korea.
“We will definitely return this country to normal by Christmas and the end of the year,” he told a crowd gathered outside the parliament in the capital, Seoul.
Prior to Tuesday, martial law temporary rule by military authorities in a time of emergency, during which civil rights are usually curtailed – had not been declared in South Korea since before it became a parliamentary democracy in 1987.
Yoon claimed the measures were needed to defeat “anti-state forces” in the parliament and referred to North Korea.
But others saw the move as an extreme reaction to the political stalemate that had arisen since the DPK won a landslide in April, reducing his government to vetoing the bills it passed, as well as Yoon’s increasing unpopularity in the wake of a scandal surrounding the First Lady.
The president’s late-night address caused dramatic scenes at the National Assembly, with protesters descending en masse as military personnel attempted to block entry to the building.
Lawmakers tussled with the soldiers, with 190 MPs making it into the building to vote down the order. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Yoon’s cabinet rescinded the martial law declaration.
However, the short-lived military takeover has seen daily protests on the streets. Some came out in support of Yoon, though they were drowned out by angry mobs. (Int’l News Desk)
