South Korea’s main liberal opposition Democratic Party, along with five minor parties, submitted a second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday. The motion comes after the first attempt was scrapped last Saturday when lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) 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 at 5:00 p.m. local time on Saturday.
According to the constitution, at least two-thirds of the 300 National Assembly lawmakers must vote in favor of the impeachment motion for it to pass. If successful, the Constitutional Court will have up to 180 days to deliberate, 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 promptly revoked by the National Assembly hours later. The declaration sparked widespread calls for his resignation.
Defending his decision in a televised address, President Yoon stated that the imposition of martial law was legal and aimed at protecting the country against what he termed a “legislative dictatorship” by the majority opposition. “I will fight to the end,” he declared.
The upcoming impeachment vote appears less likely to be in President Yoon’s favor, as Han Dong-hoon, leader of his own People Power Party, has urged party members to support the impeachment on Saturday.
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S. Korea's opposition parties submit bill to impeach President Yoon
cgtn.com
