South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces an impeachment motion before MPs for the second time on Saturday for his failed attempt to impose martial law and have the military muzzle Parliament on December 3.
Thousands of demonstrators are expected in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, at the time of the vote of deputies scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (07:00 GMT), to demand the departure of the unpopular conservative head of state, at the same time targeted by an investigation for ” rebellion” and who is prohibited from leaving the country.
Organizers promised to distribute meals to protesters to boost their morale despite the freezing temperatures. And K-pop singer Yuri of Girl’s Generation, whose song “Into the New World” has become a protest anthem, announced that she had paid for food in advance for rally attendees.
“Stay safe and take care of your health,” she wrote on a chat platform.
On December 7, a first impeachment motion presented by the opposition failed, most of the deputies of Mr. Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) having left the chamber before the vote to prevent the quorum from being reached .
To be adopted, the motion must receive at least 200 votes out of 300. The opposition led by the Democratic Party has 192 seats, and the PPP 108. Mr. Yoon’s opponents must therefore switch at least eight MPs from the PPP to their camp to achieve his downfall.
– Vote on the wire –
On Friday, seven PPP MPs had already publicly said they would vote for impeachment, promising a close vote.
If the motion passes, Mr. Yoon will be suspended from office while waiting for the Constitutional Court to validate his dismissal. The interim will be held by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
The Court will have 180 days to rule. Only six of its nine judges are in office – three others retired in October and have not been replaced because of the ongoing political deadlock – they will have to decide unanimously.
If the Court confirms the impeachment, Mr. Yoon, 63, 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 for impeachment voted by Parliament then invalidated two months later by the Constitutional Court: that of Roh Moo-hyun in 2004.
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung urged PPP lawmakers to rally to his cause, citing their responsibility for history.
– “History will remember” –
“What lawmakers must protect is neither Yoon nor the ruling party (…) but the lives of all the people protesting in the freezing streets,” Mr. Lee said on Friday. “History will remember your choice.”
Meanwhile, the police net is tightening on the president and his close associates. On Friday, prosecutors announced the arrest of the head of the Seoul military command, and the Seoul Central District Court issued arrest warrants for the national police chief and the capital police chief, citing a “risk of destruction of evidence”.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, considered the person who pushed the president to impose martial law, was the first to be arrested on December 8. He attempted suicide two days later in detention.
Yoon Suk Yeol stunned South Korea on the night of December 3 to 4 by suddenly instituting martial law, a first in more than four decades in the country, and sending army special forces to Parliament to try to prevent deputies from meeting.
But 190 elected officials still managed to enter the building, sometimes by climbing the fences. They unanimously voted for a motion demanding the lifting of martial law, while their aides prevented soldiers from barging into the chamber by barricading the doors with tables, chairs and sofas.
The president finally complied, repealing the martial law proclaimed only six hours earlier and sending the soldiers back to their barracks.
According to a Gallup poll released Friday, Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating reached a historic high of 11%, and 75% of respondents want him impeached.
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