The South Korean opposition announced on Wednesday the tabling of an impeachment motion in Parliament against conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, after his failed attempt to impose martial law.
This motion, which will require a two-thirds majority to be adopted, could be put to a vote on Friday, indicated during a press conference the six opposition parties represented in Parliament, including the main one among them , the Democratic Party (center-left).
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 barely six hours later under pressure from deputies and the street.
In the context of difficulties in adopting the budget, the president justified this exceptional measure 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, had pointed to a “legislative dictatorship” and accused the elected representatives of the opposition of blocking “all budgets essential to the primary functions of the nation.”
– Soldiers in Parliament –
After Mr. Yoon's announcement, troops were deployed and army helicopters landed on the roof of parliament, but MPs were able to convene in a hurry to pass a resolution demanding the repeal of the measure, which Mr. Yoon finally resolved to do after several hours.
Hundreds of demonstrators had meanwhile gathered in front of Parliament to demand the withdrawal of the text and the resignation of the president.
The imposition of martial law, a first in more than 40 years in South Korea, involved the suspension of political life, the closure of parliament and the control of the media.
This announcement generated concern and disapproval around the world, particularly from the United States, Seoul's main ally against North Korea.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the presidential election against Mr. Yoon, described the measure imposed by him as “illegal”.
“We will file a complaint for rebellion” against the president, his defense and interior ministers and “key figures in the army and police, such as the martial law commander (a general of the “army, Editor's note) and the police chief”, announced the Democratic Party on Wednesday.
Even Mr. Yoon's party, the People Power Party, distanced itself from the president's initiative.
“The president must explain this tragic situation immediately and in detail,” the head of his party, Han Dong-hoon, declared on television, stressing that “all those responsible will have to be held accountable.”
The president's chief of staff and several advisers “presented their collective resignation” in the morning, according to the Yonhap news agency.
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 in power.”
– Yoon “went crazy” –
By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the leader had still not reappeared in public.
In total, more than 280 soldiers broke into Parliament, according to Yonhap. A total of 190 deputies out of 300 still managed to meet in the hemicycle, where special forces soldiers were trying to penetrate, and to vote unanimously on a motion calling for the lifting of martial law.
In front of the building, sealed overnight, demonstrators shouted: “Stop Yoon Suk Yeol!”, noted AFP journalists.
“Why did we have to come here after working all day, in the middle of the week?” shouted a demonstrator. “It’s because of this senseless martial law decreed by Yoon, who has gone crazy,” cried another protester, cheered by hundreds of people.
At dawn on Wednesday, Mr. Yoon finally decided to announce on television the lifting of martial law and the withdrawal of troops deployed in the capital, sparking cries of joy from demonstrators.
Martial law was last activated in 1980, 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 night, the Seoul Stock Exchange ended Wednesday down 1.4%.
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