South Korean lawmakers are expected to convene again to decide whether to attack President Yoon Suk Yeol for ignoring his martial law orders.
A week later Yoon prepared to remove it firstThe National Assembly is expected to vote at around 4 pm local time, on Saturday, on whether to impeach him for “insurrectionary acts that undermine the constitutional order”.
Two hundred votes are needed to make the impeachment, the significant opposition lawmakers need to convince eight parliamentarians from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) to switch sides. As of Friday, seven ruling lawmakers had raised the credibility of the impeachment – leaving the vote up in the air.
Thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of Seoul to demand Yoon’s resignation and the prisons behind him. a brief declaration of martial law They sent soldiers and helicopters to the parliament. The lawyers quickly responded that he would break the military cordon convened councils to vote denounced.
Demonstrators supporting the prosecution are expected to gather around parliament on Saturday around noon. The authorities promised to distribute food and flags to the protesters to lift their spirits in the freezing December temperatures. K-pop singer Yuri of the band Girls’ Generation – whose song became a protest in the New World – said he provided food for fans who attended the rally. “Stay safe and take care of yourself!” he said online.
Yoon vowed fight “until the last minute” and doubled down on the cites of the opposition allied with the communist enemies of South Korea.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, implored the ruling PPP lawmakers to “complain with the people in the cold”. Two PPP legislators supported the vote last week.
“The history of your choice will be remembered and remembered,” Lee said.
Kim Min-seok, an opposition lawmaker, said on Friday that he was “99%” sure the impeachment motion would happen.
If approved, Yoon would be suspended from office while South Korea’s constitutional court deliberates. the prime minister, Han Duck-soo, wanted to step in as interim president. Then I will preside over the court for 180 days.
If his removal is successful, Yoon will become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.
It preceded the trial to block the impeachment: in 2004, then president Roh Moo-hyun was removed from parliament for alleged violations and incompetence of the election law, but the constitutional court later reinstated him.
The court also currently has only six judges, so its decision needs unanimity.
If the vote fails, Yoon may still face a “legal mandate” for martial law, said Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at Korea University’s Institute of Jurisprudence.
“Obviously this was a riot,” he said. “Although the impeachment motion does not pass, the president’s legal obligations under the criminal code … cannot be avoided.”
Yoon remained unapologetic and defiant as the case deepened from the deadly declaration of martial law and the investigation expanded into its circle.
On Friday, prosecutors said they had arrested a military commander who oversaw the defense of the capital.
Arrest requests were issued by the Seoul Central District Court for the capital city and the city’s police chief, citing the “danger of destruction of evidence.”
Yoon confirmed that the estimate – never the highest – had plummeted to 11%, according to a Korea poll released on Friday. The same poll showed that 75% supported his accusation.
Protesters calling for more than a week run the gamut of South Korean society: from K-pop fans waving lightning bolts to retirees and blue-collar workers.
“The push is necessary and we have to fight recklessly,” said Kim Sung-tae, a 52-year-old worker at a car parts manufacturer. “We fight for the restoration of democracy.”
Master Kim Hwan-ii agreed. “I’m so angry that I’m paying everyone the price for electing this president.”
With Agence France-Presse