Attempt to impeach South Korean president fails after ruling party boycotts vote | Global News Avenue

South Korean legislation pushes for impeachment President Yoon Seok-yeol His vote to briefly impose martial law failed on Saturday as most lawmakers from the conservative ruling party boycotted the vote.

The motion’s failure is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon to step down and deepen South Korea’s political chaos. A survey shows that a majority of South Koreans support impeachment of the president.

Yin’s martial law order has drawn criticism from his ruling conservative party, but the party is also determined to oppose Yin’s impeachment, apparently out of fear of losing the presidency to liberals.

Impeaching Yin requires the support of two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of the 300 members. The opposition party that proposed the impeachment motion has 192 seats, but only three members of the People’s Party participated in the vote. As the number of votes fell short of 200, the motion was abandoned without counting.

Earlier Saturday, Yin issue a public apology He said he would not evade the legal or political responsibilities of the declaration and promised not to try to impose martial law again. He said it would be up to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including issues related to my tenure”.

“The declaration of this martial law was motivated by my desperation. However, in its implementation it has caused anxiety and inconvenience to the public. I am very sorry for this and offer my sincere apologies to those who must have been shocked “A lot,” Yin said.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through the opposition-controlled parliament and grapple with low approval ratings scandal Involving himself and his wife. In declaring martial law on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminal elements” obstructing state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and anti-national forces.”

Yin’s bizarre and ill-considered stunts caused riot South Korean politics is paralyzed One of Asia’s most powerful democracies faces a political crisis that could lead to the ouster of its leader, raising alarm among key diplomatic partners including neighboring Japan and Seoul’s top ally, the United States.

Special forces surrounded the Capitol on Tuesday night and military helicopters hovered over it, but the troops withdrew after the National Assembly voted unanimously to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to cancel it before dawn on Wednesday. this declare martial law This is the first case in South Korea in more than 40 years. Eighteen members of the ruling party joined opposition members in voting to reject Yoon’s martial law order.

Yun’s impeachment motion seemed more likely to pass on Friday, with the chairman of Yun’s party calling for Yun’s removal on Friday, but the party still formally opposed impeachment.

Tens of thousands of people packed streets near the National Assembly on Saturday, waving banners, chanting slogans and dancing and singing to K-pop songs with altered lyrics calling for Yoon Eun-hye to step down. A small group of Yoon Eun-hye supporters, still appearing to number in the thousands, rallied on different streets in Seoul to denounce what they saw as an unconstitutional impeachment attempt.

Lawmakers first voted on Saturday on a bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of stock price manipulation surrounding Yoon Eun-hye’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after the vote, prompting angry shouts from opposition lawmakers.

If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him. If he is removed from office, an election to replace him must be held within 60 days.

Opposition lawmakers said Yoon’s attempt at martial law amounted to a self-coup and drafted an impeachment motion around the rebellion charge.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “very disappointing” and that the only way out was his immediate resignation or impeachment.

on Friday, PPP Chairman Han Dongxun, A critic of Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial law said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law, Mr. Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key figures on charges of “anti-national activities.” Politicians.

Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Friday that Yoon called and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence agency detain key politicians after martial law was imposed. Kim Byung-ki, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting, said the targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo.

The Defense Ministry said it had suspended defense counterintelligence commander Yeo In-hyung, and Han claimed he had received orders from Yun to detain politicians. The Defense Ministry also suspended the commanders of the Capital Defense Command and Special Operations Command for their role in imposing martial law.

previous Dear Minister of Defense Kim Yong-hyun, The man accused of advising Yoon to impose martial law has been slapped with a travel ban and faces prosecutors’ investigation over rebellion charges.

Deputy Defense Minister Kim Sun-ho testified to the National Assembly that it was Kim Yong-hyun who ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon Eun-hye imposed martial law.