SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea’s opposition moved to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday after his extraordinary but short-lived imposition of martial law that brought thousands of protesters to the streets.
Yoon’s shock bid to suspend civilian rule for the first time in over four decades — before being overturned by lawmakers in a night of drama — plunged South Korea into deep turmoil and alarmed its close allies.
The future of Yoon, a politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022, is now highly uncertain.
South Korea’s opposition parties — whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces to vote down the law — on Wednesday filed a motion to impeach Yoon.
“We’ve submitted an impeachment motion prepared urgently,” said Kim Yong-min from the opposition Democratic Party (DP).
They were yet to decide when to put it to a vote, but it could come as soon as Friday.
The opposition holds a large majority in the 300-member parliament and needs only a handful of defections from the president’s party to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion.
Earlier the DP said it would file charges of “insurrection,” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and “key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief”, the DP said in a statement.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faced demands to resign on Wednesday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law that was voted down by lawmakers and brought thousands of protesters to the streets.
Yoon’s shock bid to impose South Korea’s first martial law in over four decades plunged the country into the deepest turmoil in its modern democratic history and caught its close allies around the world off guard.
South Korea’s main opposition party that it would file insurrection charges against President Yoon Suk Yeol and other top security officials over his short-lived declaration of martial law.
“We will file charges of insurrection,” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and “key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief,” the Democratic Party said in a statement, adding it would also push for impeachment.
Earlier, the opposition party — whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces so they could vote to overturn the law — demanded that Yoon step down immediately over the attempted “insurrection”.
If Yoon failed to leave, the Democratic Party warned that it would “immediately initiate impeachment proceedings in line with the will of the people”.
The nation’s largest umbrella labour union also called an “indefinite general strike” until Yoon resigned.
And the leader of Yoon’s own ruling party described the attempt as “tragic” while calling for those involved to be held accountable.
Yoon backed down after 190 lawmakers defied security forces to get into the assembly to unanimously vote to oppose his declaration, which he made late on Tuesday night citing the threat of North Korea and “anti-state forces”.
Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it.
“Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations,” Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).
“We will accept the National Assembly’s request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet meeting.”
Senior aides working for Yoon offered Wednesday to resign en masse over the martial law declaration, Yonhap reported.
By the start of the working day, Yoon had yet to reappear publicly.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday night declared an emergency martial law in the country accusing the opposition of anti-state activities, as lawmakers and protesters quickly voiced opposition to the move.
The speaker of parliament declared the martial law announcement invalid and lawmakers early on Wednesday voted to reject it, Reuters reported.
President Yoon made the announcement in a televised address, vowing to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”
Yoon said on Tuesday that he will rebuild a free and democratic country through martial law, Al Jazeera reported.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said as quoted by Al Jazeera.
“This is an unavoidable measure to ensure the freedom and safety of the people and guarantee the sustainability of the nation against the unrest stirred by these subversive, anti-state elements.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how Yoon’s step would affect the country’s governance and democracy.
Soon after the announcement, lawmakers in the National Assembly blocked the president’s move to declare martial law.
The military personnel that had been in the building have departed – but the representatives said they will stay put in case of an attempt to disband the parliament, BBC reported.
After the president’s address, the gates to parliament were shut – hundreds of protesters then gathered outside, with some chanting “no to martial law” and “strike down dictatorship” as police blocked the entrance, BBC reported.
It was the first time that martial law had been declared since the East Asian nation officially transitioned to democracy with the adoption of a new constitution in the 1980s.
South Korea’s opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party criticised the declaration and vowed to block it. Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted with a majority vote in parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party has the numbers.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik submitted a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law at around 1 am Wednesday local time. All 190 lawmakers who were present, out of 300 in total, voted in favour, Euronews reported.
Yoon had said that emergency martial law was critical to protect South Korea from “threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements”.
“The martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” he added.
Following Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, according to the government-funded Yonhap news agency.
“The Administration is in contact with the ROK government and is monitoring the situation closely,” said the White House National Security Council in a statement to NBC News.
Leader of the ruling People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, said “the declaration of martial law is wrong”, adding that he would “oppose the declaration of martial law alongside the people”.
The opposition Democratic Party called for an emergency meeting following Yoon’s announcement, Al Jazeera reported.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional,” the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
Yoon’s People Power Party had been locked in an impasse with the opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill.
The opposition has also been attempting to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
“The National Assembly has also completely cut budgets essential for national operations, drug crime prevention, and public safety, undermining the core functions of the state,” the president added.
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“This has left our citizens in a state of chaos, with the nation becoming a haven for drugs and public safety collapsing.”
The declaration roiled Korean markets. The won fell sharply against the dollar, last trading down more than 1% at around 1,420 won.
The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), which tracks Korean stocks, dropped more than 2%.
After the National Assembly vote, the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board announced it would hold an emergency meeting to discuss market stabilization measures for the following day. The Korea Exchange has not yet announced a final decision on whether the market will open Wednesday.
