South Korean parliament votes to impeach president

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

The opposition had submitted the 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.

Yoon 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.

The Constitutional Court now has a maximum of 180 days to decide whether Yoon can remain as president. If he is ousted, new elections must be held within 60 days to choose a successor.

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

Supporters and opponents took to the streets this morning to protest: