South Korean President Yoon impeached over martial law debacle

Yoon Suk-yeol has been suspended from office while South Korea’s Constitutional Court deliberates on his future

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol bows while giving a public address from his official residence in Seoul on Saturday. Yoon said he would “step aside” after parliament had voted to remove him from office. Photo: South Korean Presidential Office via Yonhap / AFP

Published: 4:02pm, 14 Dec 2024Updated: 6:55pm, 14 Dec 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, leaving the nation under caretaker rule.

The impeachment resolution, citing “insurrectionary acts”, passed with 204 out of 300 lawmakers voting in favour – just four votes over the two-thirds threshold required. Eight votes were nullified, three lawmakers abstained, and 85 voted against.

Police said at least 200,000 people had gathered outside the National Assembly demanding Yoon’s removal, amid another weekend of mass protests decrying his December 3 martial law declaration – widely seen as an authoritarian overreach and a threat to South Korea’s democracy.

With Yoon suspended from office, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has stepped in as acting president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the impeachment. Han sought to reassure the public, pledging to “ensure stable governance” during the interim period. “I will devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance,” he told reporters on Saturday.

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South Korean President Yoon impeached over martial law debacle

Opposition lawmakers needed to sway at least eight members of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party to achieve the required majority. The main opposition Democratic Party heralded the outcome as a victory for democracy.