The South Korean Parliament approved this Saturday the dismissal of the president, Yoon Suk-yeol, for having declared martial law on December 3 for a few hours, with the support of deputies from the president’s own party.
The deputies of the National Assembly have participated in the vote, with a result of 204 votes in favor of the motion – presented by the opposition – to dismiss Yoon, 85 against, three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, according to EFE. Some members of Yoon’s People Power Party have joined opposition parties in the Assembly and voted in favor of suspension from office. The opposition controls 192 seats of the 300 in the South Korean parliament, a figure that alone does not exceed the two-thirds threshold necessary to validate the impeachment vote.
Although suspended, Yoon remains, for now, in office. The Constitutional Court will decide whether to remove him at some point in the next six months. If he is removed, early elections will be called.
Yoon shocked the South Korean public last night on December 3 when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called “anti-state forces” and overcome obstructionist political opponents. Within days he apologized for his actions to the nation, although he also defended his decision and resisted calls to resign before the vote.
Thousands of South Korean citizens have taken to the streets in Seoul to call for Yoon’s removal. It is the second time that the country’s parliament has voted on a motion to remove him from office, and hundreds of civilians have celebrated the result of the vote.
Source: www.eldiario.es
