SEOUL: South Korea’s opposition leader urged a top court on Sunday to swiftly formalise the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after his brief martial law decree.
Parliamentarians on Saturday voted to remove Yoon from office over his suspension of civilian rule, which plunged the country into some of its worst political turmoil in years.
Out of 300 lawmakers, 204 voted to impeach the president on allegations of insurrection while 85 voted against it. Three abstained, with eight votes nullified.
The nation’s new interim leader, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo soon after the development told reporters he would “devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance”.
The opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Sunday urged the judges of the top court to “swiftly” remove Yoon from office despite the court having 180 days period to rule on Yoon’s future. “This is the only way to minimise national turmoil and alleviate the suffering of the people,” he said.
“To hold those responsible for this absurd situation accountable and to prevent its recurrence, it is essential to uncover the truth and demand accountability,” he said.
Meanwhile, the White House in a statement has said that President Biden spoke with Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
“President Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in the ROK and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the people of the ROK,” said the rad out.
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It added the two leaders discussed the tremendous progress we have made toward further strengthening the U.S.-ROK Alliance in recent years, and President Biden expressed his confidence that the Alliance will remain the linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Han’s tenure.
Vast protests both for and against Yoon have rocked the South Korean capital since the December 3 martial law decree. Demonstrators in both camps have vowed to keep up the pressure campaign as the Constitutional Court mulls Yoon’s fate.
“I will certainly protest at the court to demand it reject the impeachment,” Cho Hee-sun, a Yoon supporter, told AFP at a rally on Saturday before the parliamentary vote.
Earlier, Russia reacting on the situation of South Korea said that Moscow expects the recent developments in Seoul will not affect the situation in the broader peninsula.
“We expect that they will not affect the socio-political situation on the Korean Peninsula as a whole. It is already complicated on the Korean Peninsula by the provocative actions of the US and its allies,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a news conference in Moscow.
