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South Korea: Yoon faces new impeachment motion on Saturday
South Korea's opposition on Friday urged ruling party lawmakers to join it in voting in Parliament on Saturday for a second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for their historic responsibility. The unpopular conservative president had stunned South Korea on December 3 by suddenly instituting martial law, a first in more than four decades in the country, before reversing course just six hours later under pressure from Parliament and thousands of demonstrators. first motion of impeachment failed on December 7. Most of the deputies from Mr. Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) had left the chamber before the vote, preventing a quorum from being reached. But after a week of behind-the-scenes negotiations and as the net tightens around of the president, targeted by a criminal investigation for “rebellion” and banned from leaving the country, the opposition seems in a better position this time, analysts believe. The vote is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. (8 a.m. GMT). The motion needs 200 votes out of 300 to pass, and the opposition, with 192 seats, must convince at least eight of the 108 PPP MPs to switch to its camp. On Friday, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, the main opposition force, urged PPP elected officials to rally to its cause by invoking their responsibility in the face of history. “What legislators must protect is neither Yoon nor the ruling party (…) but the lives of all the people protesting in the freezing streets,” Mr. Lee said. “We invite you to support tomorrow's impeachment vote. History will remember your choice and take it into account.” – Close vote in perspective – Early Friday afternoon, seven PPP deputies had already publicly said that they would vote for impeachment, promising a close vote. Opposition lawmaker Kim Min-seok said the chances of winning were “99 percent.” If the motion passes, Mr. Yoon will be suspended from office waiting that the Constitutional Court validates his dismissal. The interim will be held by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The Court will have 180 days to rule. If she confirms the impeachment, Mr. Yoon will become the second president in the history of South Korea to suffer this fate, after Park Geun-hye in 2017. But there is also a precedent of impeachment voted by Parliament but invalidated by the Constitutional Court: that of Roh Moo-hyun in 2004. – “Act of rebellion” -Even if he escapes dismissal, Yoon Suk Yeol could still be held “legally responsible” for his coup de force, explains to AFP Kim Hyun-jung, researcher at the Institute of Law of Korea University. “It is clearly an act of rebellion,” she continues. “Even if the impeachment motion is not adopted, the president cannot escape his criminal responsibility.” As South Korea sinks into political crisis, Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his defiance. During a televised speech on Thursday, he vowed to fight “until the last minute.” Since his disastrous attempt to impose martial law and muzzle Parliament by sending in the army, tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of Seoul to demand his resignation and incarceration. According to a Gallup poll released Friday, the president's approval rating fell to a new low of 11%, and 75% of The protesters represent the entire spectrum of South Korean society, from young K-pop fans waving glow sticks to retirees who suffered through the dark days of the military dictatorship in the 1990s. 1980. “Impeachment is a necessity,” Kim Sung-tae, a 52-year-old auto industry worker in a company that manufactures auto parts, told AFP. “We will fight to restore democracy.” “I am furious that we all have to pay the price for electing this president,” agrees Kim Hwan-ii, a teacher.bur-oho-roc/cm
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