Today, 204 of the 300 deputies voted in favor of the impeachment motion. There were 85 votes against, three deputies abstained and eight ballots were invalidated. At least 12 members of the majority favor impeachment. The constitutional judges (three of nine are vacant) will have 180 days to approve the decision. Experts and analysts consider that “the turbulence has not ended.”
Seoul () – The Seoul Parliament, controlled by the opposition, voted today in favor of impeaching South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, following his attempt – canceled a few hours later – to impose martial law in the country on the 3rd. last December. With the suspension of his powers and duties, the role of acting president will be performed by current Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to the Constitution. Now the ball moves to the court of the Constitutional Court, whose process could last weeks or months, with a maximum period of 180 days to decide. Once the trial has been carried out, the judges will have to approve (or reject) the deputies’ decision, and in case of ratification, call elections for their successor within 60 days.
The Constitutional Court is made up of nine members and the vote must be approved with a two-thirds majority. But at this moment there are only six judges while three positions are vacant and there is still no agreement between the majority and the opposition on the appointments; therefore, a unanimous decision of the justices is required. For the moment today’s vote “freezes” President Yoon’s powers, but does not remove him from office, because only the approval of the Constitutional Court will fully act on the impeachment and determine his dismissal. In South Korea’s only previous impeachment trial, judges took three months to remove Park Geun-hye from office in 2017.
In recent days, Parliament rejected the first impeachment motion against the president, who had proclaimed (and then revoked) martial law. After the vote, the opposition accused the government led by the People Power Party (PPP) of organizing a “second coup d’état.” Under the Constitution, the president remains head of government and commander of the army unless he is incapacitated or resigns from office. Only in these cases can power be transferred – provisionally, until elections are held – to the prime minister. The experts agree in that a president cannot delegate his authority while in office, and the suspension of powers is linked only to impeachment.
This morning, 204 of the 300 members of Congress voted in favor of the impeachment motion against the president, who along with his allies is being investigated on charges of insurrection and cannot leave the country. This means that at least 12 MPs from Yoon’s party have sided with the opposition. There were 85 votes against, while three deputies abstained and eight ballots were invalidated. However, analysts and scholars, including Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, observe that the parliamentary decision does not mark “the end of political turmoil in South Korea.” On the contrary, continues the expert quoted by the BBC, “it is not even the beginning of the end, which implies the election of a new president.”
The Constitutional Court now has 180 days to decide whether President Yoon should be removed or reinstated. If he decides to remove him, elections must be held to elect the next president within 60 days of the verdict. The main leader of the opposition party, the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in 2022, is the favorite in the event of a new presidential election. However, the opposition leader also has a pending conviction on appeal and other criminal proceedings that could cause him to be excluded from the highest institutional position in the country. “Therefore, before the final confrontation at the polls, there will be a confrontation in the courts,” concluded the Seoul University professor.
Immediately after the parliamentary vote, Yoon’s supporters gathered in Gwanghwamun Square received the news in silence. Pastor Jun Kwang-hoon led the crowd in chanting “Dismantle the ruling party.” Some people shouted angry insults and then left the demonstration site. Addressing the nation, Yoon himself declared that he wanted to “step aside,” although he called for an end to the “politics of excess and confrontation” and assured that “the journey to the future… must never stop.” The climate was different among opposition supporters; Thousands of people took to the streets to greet with joy a result that in any case is destined to exacerbate the political and institutional crisis in South Korea.
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