SEOUL – South Korean lawmakers have voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived bid to impose martial law in the country.
The opposition tabled the motion for his impeachment after some members of Yoon’s People Power Party joined hands with it. The motion was supported by 204 lawmakers while 85 voted against it and three abstained from balloting.
Yeol has become second conservative president in a row to be impeached as Park Geun-hye was ousted from office in 2017.
As per the country’s constitution, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was appointed by Yoon, has now become an acting president.
Although suspended, Yoon will stay in office. The Constitutional Court will decide whether to remove him sometime in the next six months.
If Yoon is ousted from office, a snap election will be held in the country, international media reported.
Earlier this month, President Yeol made a surprising move by declaring martial law in the country, calling it ‘imperative’ to end shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces.
In his speech, Yeol had come down hard on domestic political opponents, accusing them of destabilizing the country of around 52 million people. The martial law announcement sent shockwaves across the region, as South Korea remained under democratic rule since 1980, when massive anti-government demonstrations ended 18-year rule of the military.
However, The country’s capital Seoul – which is home to around 9.4million people, saw chaotic scenes post martial law announcement, as opposition-controlled Parliament blocked the move. The announcement led to widespread protests, with thousands of demonstrators flooding the streets in opposition to the decision.
