After the failure of a first motion to impeach the South Korean president on Saturday December 7, the main opposition party announced that a second attempt would take place on December 14. For his part, the Minister of the Interior resigned, while the former Minister of Defense was arrested.
Surprise martial law, massive demonstrations, resignations… South Korea is experiencing a crazy week since the short-lived martial law proclaimed Tuesday by its president Yoon Suk Yeol and canceled a few hours later. After an initial failure in Parliament of a motion to dismiss the latter, the main opposition party, the Democratic Party, announced this Sunday, December 8 that it would reattempt a motion to this effect on Saturday, December 14. «Yoon […] must resign immediately or be dismissed without delay,” Democratic leader Lee Jae-Myung told reporters. “On December 14, our Democratic Party will impeach Yoon, in the name of the people.”
If the president is still in office for the moment, other heads are rolling. South Korean Interior Minister Lee Sang-min has resigned, several local media reported this Sunday. In his resignation letter, he mentions his “responsibility for not having served the population or the president well”, according to the daily JoongAng Ilbowho claims that Yoon accepted his departure. The two are among those responsible under investigation for “rebellion”, after the surprise proclamation of martial law Tuesday evening.
Also according to local media, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was arrested by the police this Sunday. The latter, who was in office at the time of martial law, was already prohibited from leaving the territory. He resigned after the short-lived state of emergency and is under investigation for “rebellion” him too.
A first impeachment motion rejected
Around 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday (1:30 p.m. Paris time), conservative President Yoon survived an impeachment motion filed against him and put to a vote by Parliament. His party boycotted the vote and made it invalid, due to lack of a necessary quorum of 200 deputies. Only 195 participated.
Shortly after, Yoon Suk Yeol's People Power Party (PPP) explained that it had blocked the motion in order to avoid “a serious divide and chaos”, ensuring that he “would resolve the crisis in a more orderly and responsible manner.” PPP leader Han Dong-hoon certified that the party had “got” from Yoon the promise that he would step down and that, until his effective resignation, he would be “largely excluded from his functions”, then ensured by the Prime Minister and the PPP.
Massive protests
Following the vote, tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets on Saturday to protest after President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law. While the police reported having counted 150,000 people, the organizers for their part claimed an influx of one million demonstrators.
Tuesday, December 3, Yoon Suk Yeol, to everyone's surprise, declared emergency martial law, while the opposition was already accusing him of authoritarian excesses, “to protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces and eliminate elements hostile to the state,” he justified himself on television. A measure that the leader was forced to repeal barely six hours later, under pressure from Parliament and the streets.
Saturday morning, new surprise: Yoon Suk Yeol presented his “sincere apologies” to the nation in a televised address. But without resigning, contenting himself with entrusting his party with the task of deciding the rest of his mandate. Since then, the demonstrations have continued.
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