South Korea: opposition begins impeachment procedure

(Keystone-ATS) Six South Korean opposition parties accused President Yoon Suk Yeol of having “severely and extensively violated the constitution” in order to “avoid criminal prosecution” against him, in an impeachment motion presented in the early hours of the day in front of Parliament.

“The Yoon administration attempted to take control of the National Assembly by deploying 250 members of elite troops (…) in the Parliament building,” said MP Kim Seung-won in a televised speech, referring to “ an unforgivable crime.

For its part, the ruling party decided to oppose the impeachment motion, according to the Yonhap news agency. “Many parliamentarians who participated in the party meeting said they agreed to oppose the impeachment,” said this source.

South Korea experienced a day of anger and protests on Wednesday following the chaos of Tuesday night, when President Yoon attempted to impose martial law for the first time in 40 years.

The future of Mr. Yoon, a former attorney general who became president in 2022, is now uncertain.

The impeachment motion, which will require a two-thirds majority to be adopted, could be put to a vote as early as Friday, indicated the six opposition parties represented in Parliament, including the main one, the Democratic Party (center -LEFT).

“The president is crazy”

On Wednesday, thousands of South Koreans demonstrated in Seoul to demand Mr. Yoon’s impeachment.

With banners, candles and distributions of hot drinks, Koreans showed that they were deeply shocked to have seen their country so close to turning its back on nearly 40 years of democracy.

“It was like a history lesson,” says Park Su-hyung, 39. “Our democracy will be trampled if we leave Mr. Yoon in power for another moment.”

“I had to be there this evening, the president is crazy,” judges Choi Moon Jung, 55, as he distributes hot drinks.

Mr. Yoon, whose popularity rating was already at an all-time low, has his back against the wall by both the opposition and his own party after introducing martial law during a surprise speech late Tuesday, before repealing the measure a few hours later under pressure from deputies and the street.

In a context of difficulties in adopting the 2025 budget, the president justified this coup by saying he wanted to “eliminate elements hostile to the State” and “protect liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korean communist forces.” “.

Mr. Yoon, narrowly elected in 2022 and who has never had a majority in Parliament, pointed to a “legislative dictatorship” and accused opposition elected officials of blocking “all budgets essential to the primary functions of the nation.”

Soldiers in Parliament

After his announcement, troops were deployed and army helicopters landed on the roof of the South Korean Parliament. But 190 deputies out of 300 were able to meet in disaster in the hemicycle where special forces were trying to penetrate. They managed to pass a resolution and obtained the repeal of the measure just hours after its announcement.

The imposition of martial law involved the suspension of political life, the closure of Parliament and the placing under control of the media.

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun announced that he had offered his resignation to the president. “I deeply regret and take full responsibility for the confusion and concern caused to the public by martial law,” he wrote in a statement.

Even Mr. Yoon’s party, the People’s Power Party, distanced itself from the presidential initiative.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s largest inter-union association with some 1.2 million members, called for an “indefinite general strike” until Mr. Yoon’s resignation, saying he had “signed his own end to the power “.

Martial law was last activated in 1980 in South Korea, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest a military coup. These demonstrations were bloodily repressed.

Undermined by the events of the previous night, the Seoul Stock Exchange ended Wednesday down 1.4%.