President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun pose for a photo at a ceremony to present an appointment letter to new ministers in September. Yoon has accepted Kim’s resignation offer, according to the presidential office on Thursday.

Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment vote looms large

(The Korea Herald/ANN) -- An impeachment motion that could remove President Yoon Suk Yeol will be put to vote on Saturday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea announced Thursday, as the opposition-majority National Assembly holds Yoon accountable for what they are calling his insurrection in the wake of his short-lived martial law declaration earlier this week.
In the 300-member National Assembly, a motion to impeach a South Korean president requires at least 200 votes regardless of how many lawmakers are present at the session. Should the impeachment motion pass, Yoon would be immediately suspended from his position until the Constitutional Court’s verdict. Yoon is now halfway through his five-year term that started in May 2022.
The main opposition party, which holds the majority of seats at the 300-member National Assembly, later on Thursday upped the ante by saying they would resolve a case in the parliament to name an independent prosecutor who would look into Yoon’s case.
Yoon’s office has remained silent as of press time Thursday, as 191 lawmakers of the opposition parties including the Democratic Party tabled the impeachment motion at a plenary session at 12:48 am Thursday.
Under the National Assembly Act, the vote could technically be held as early as at 12:48 am Friday. A motion to impeach a South Korean president must undergo a secret vote between 24 and 72 hours after the motion is reported.
Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, senior spokesperson of the Democratic Party, told reporters Thursday that the party plans to put the motion to vote at the National Assembly extraordinary plenary session at around 7 pm Saturday, instead of rushing for a vote in the earliest time possible.
Jo said the party’s decisions would provide the people and ruling party lawmakers with more time to deliberate on whether Yoon’s act amounts to an insurgency or attempted coup d’etat.
Jo also said the revoting session of the vetoed bill to allow a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee’s allegations including influence-peddling and stock manipulation will also take place in Saturday’s session. A revote of the special counsel bill will require at least two-thirds of all lawmakers present at the session. The opposition party has already attempted to pass similar bills twice during Yoon’s tenure, and all of the previous bills failed to meet the minimum threshold - which usually stands at 200 with all ruling party lawmakers present - at the revoting sessions.
The ruling People Power Party holds 108 parliamentary seats out of 300 at the National Assembly, as a result of the April general election defeat. Boycotting Saturday’s session, for example, could stop Yoon impeachment motion from passing, but at the same time would have the special counsel bill on Yoon’s wife passed.

(Latest Update December 6, 2024)