South Korea’s Yoon faces impeachment after martial law blunder: ‘political suicide’
The South Korean president’s failed martial law decree has led to turmoil, calls for his resignation and a motion to impeach him
03:22
South Korea lifts president’s martial law decree after lawmakers vote against it
Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament for the motion and then the backing of at least six Constitutional Court justices. The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.
Yoon’s senior advisers and secretaries offered to resign collectively and his cabinet members, including Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun, were also facing calls to step down, as the nation struggled to make sense of what appeared to be a poorly-thought-out stunt.
What followed was a swift unravelling: within just six hours, despite a police blockade, 190 out of 300 lawmakers defied the decree and converged on the National Assembly to unanimously pass a resolution demanding an immediate end to martial law.
As armed special forces dispatched to the site attempted to assert control, hundreds of furious protesters formed a human barricade, preventing troops from entering the Assembly building. Thousands more demonstrators gathered outside, shouting for Yoon’s arrest.
