South Korean parliament votes to impeach president, appointed interim

The South Korean parliament has voted to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has been appointed as a temporary replacement. 204 of the 300 parliamentarians voted in favor of impeachment, narrowly more than the necessary 200.

The Constitutional Court now has a maximum of 180 days to decide whether Yoon, who is still formally president, should leave permanently. If he is ousted, new elections must be held within 60 days to choose a successor.

The opposition had filed the impeachment motion because of Yoon’s decision a week and a half ago to declare martial law. In doing so, he sidelined parliament, among other things.

Last week, parliament was supposed to vote on an impeachment motion, but that was canceled at the last minute because Yoon’s own party boycotted the vote.

Yoon said in a response that he is “temporarily pausing his journey” and “he will never give up.” In his statement, he further emphasizes that he will do his best for his country “until the end”.

When declaring martial law, Yoon had claimed that the opposition was doing everything it could to thwart the government and paralyze the country’s administration. Moreover, he accused the opposition, which has a majority in parliament, of sympathizing with arch-enemy North Korea.

Yoon has been under pressure in his own country for some time. Martial law was seen as a desperate act to save his own skin and as a last attempt to maintain a grip on power. After much criticism, Yoon quickly revoked the state of emergency.

Supporters and opponents of Yoon took to the streets in Seoul this morning:

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung spoke to protesters outside the parliament building. He said today’s vote proved that “South Korea belongs to the voters.” He warned that “even bigger and tougher challenges are ahead.”

Lee is seen as the top contender to become president in the next elections. A possible problem is that he is involved in a number of lawsuits. There is a chance that a court ruling will prevent Lee from running for president, Leif-Eric Easley told the BBC. He is a professor of International Studies at a university in Seoul.