Efforts to impeach the South Korean president failed after the ruling party boycotted the vote

South Korea’s legislature is pushing for impeachment President Yoon Suk Yeol on his temporary imposition of martial law fell on Saturday after most members of his ruling party boycotted the vote.

Defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and fuel political turmoil in South Korea. Research shows that the majority of South Koreans support the impeachment of the president.

Yoon’s declaration of martial law has drawn criticism from his ruling party, but he is also determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment openly for fear of losing the presidency to the liberals.

Impeaching Yoon requires support from two-thirds of the National Assembly or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties submitted a motion to remove him from office with 192 seats, but only three PPP MPs participated in the vote. This proposal was rejected without counting the votes because the votes did not reach 200.

Earlier on Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology upon the declaration of martial law, saying that he would not avoid legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising that he would make no further attempt to enforce martial law. He said he will leave it to his party to organize the political structure in the country, “including issues affecting my time in power.”

“The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But, when it was implemented, it caused anxiety and disruption to the public. I am very sorry for that and I am really sorry to the people who must have been shocked. very much,” said Yoon.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to pass his agenda in the opposition-controlled parliament and faced low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his declaration of martial law on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” interfering in state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean sympathizers and anti-state militias.”

Chaos is the result of Yoon’s awkwardness and ill-consideredness paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked panic among key diplomatic partners, including neighboring Japan and Seoul’s top ally the United States, as one of Asia’s strongest democracies faces a political crisis that could topple its leader.

On Tuesday night, special forces surrounded the parliament building and military helicopters hovered over it, but the troops withdrew after the National Assembly voted unanimously to overturn the resolution, forcing Yoon to lift it before dawn on Wednesday. I declaration of martial law it was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. 18 ruling party lawmakers voted to reject Yoon’s martial law along with opposition lawmakers.

Passage of the motion to impeach Yoon appeared possible on Friday when Yoon’s party chairman called for his removal from office on Friday, but the party remained officially opposed to his impeachment.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people filled the streets near the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with transliterated lyrics to call for Yoon’s ouster. A small crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which appeared to be in the thousands, gathered on various streets in Seoul, denouncing the impeachment attempt as unconstitutional.

Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of price manipulation surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, prompting angry shouts from opposition members.

If Yoon is fired, 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.

Opposition lawyers said Yoon’s attempted martial law amounted to a coup attempt, and filed a motion to impeach him on charges of treason.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “very disappointing” and that the only way forward was his immediate resignation or prosecution.

On Friday, PPP chairman Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon’s declaration of martial law, said intelligence had found that during the short term of martial law Yoon had ordered the national security chief to arrest and detain unspecified politicians on suspicion of “fighting”. – world affairs.”

Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Friday that Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the security forces arrest key politicians. The politicians targeted include Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

The Ministry of Defense said it has suspended the chief of defense, Yeo In-hyung, who is suspected of having received orders from Yoon to arrest politicians. The service also suspended the commanders of the capital defense command and the special warfare command for their involvement in martial law enforcement.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who is accused of recommending Yoon to strengthen martial law, has been placed under a travel ban and is facing a prosecutor’s investigation on charges of treason.

Deputy Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho testified in parliament that it was Kim Yong Hyun who ordered troops to be sent to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.