South Korea's main liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, along with five other minor parties, submitted a second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday. This follows the scrapping of the first motion last Saturday, when ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers boycotted the vote.
The opposition bloc plans to present the motion to a plenary session of the National Assembly on Friday and schedule a vote for 5:00 p.m. local time on Saturday. Under the constitution, at least two-thirds of the 300 National Assembly lawmakers need to approve an impeachment motion. If passed, the constitutional court will deliberate the case for up to 180 days, during which President Yoon's powers would be suspended.
President Yoon declared an emergency martial law on the night of December 3, a move that was quickly revoked by the National Assembly hours later. In response to widespread calls for his resignation, Yoon stated earlier that his martial law declaration aimed to protect against the \"legislative dictatorship\" of the majority opposition.
In a televised address, Yoon defended his short-lived martial law, asserting that the action was legal and denying any intent to destroy the constitution. \"I will fight to the end,\" Yoon declared towards the end of his speech.
However, the second impeachment vote faces challenges as Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon's own party, urged party members to vote in favor of impeachment on Saturday, potentially diminishing Yoon's chances of survival. ⚖️🇰🇷
