South Korea's president facing second impeachment vote over martial law order

14 December 2024, 02:20 | Updated: 14 December 2024, 07:58

South Korea's parliament is voting for a second time on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived attempt to declare martial law earlier this month.

The president's decision plunged the country into a constitutional crisis and triggered calls for him to step down on the grounds he had broken the law.

The country's opposition parties began holding the vote at around 4:30pm local time today (7:30am in the UK) and need two-thirds of the National Assembly to back the motion, meaning at least 200 MPs.

The vote has now finished with all 300 members of South Korea's parliament having participated in it.

While the opposition commands 192 seats, a vote to impeach the president failed last Saturday when all but one MP from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted it.

The fresh attempt faces the risk of failure after local media reported that the PPP had decided to maintain its official position to vote against the impeachment.

However, seven PPP members have said publicly they intend to back impeachment, with party leader Han Dong-hoon urging them to do so.

President's order 'hurts peace'

PPP MP Ahn Cheol-soo said on Facebook he would support the motion "for the sake of swift stabilisation of people's livelihood, economy and diplomacy".

The latest impeachment motion alleges that Mr Yoon "committed rebellion that hurts peace" in South Korea "by staging a series of riots", adding the mobilisation of military and police forces had threatened the National Assembly and the public.

After declaring a state of emergency on 3 December, the president sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament to try to impede a vote on the decree.

Martial law only lasted about six hours after parliament voted to block the order and people took to the streets in protest. The president later apologised for the incident.

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Yoon vows to 'fight to the end'

Large demonstrations took place in Seoul ahead of today's vote, marking the latest in a series of protests that have seen tens of thousands calling for the ousting and arrest of the president.

Some K-pop celebrities said they planned to donate food and drinks for those participating in the rally, while others have used delivery apps to pre-order food and coffee for protesters.

Smaller groups of Mr Yoon's conservative supporters - still in the thousands - were expected to join counter-protests in Seoul. They argue the opposition-led impeachment motion is "unconstitutional" and "false propaganda".

Mr Yoon has meanwhile defied calls to resign and vowed on Thursday to "fight to the end" to stop "forces and criminal groups" he said were "threatening the future of the Republic of Korea".

He claimed the martial law order was necessary to overcome political deadlock, despite originally saying it was to "eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces".

If impeached, Mr Yoon's presidential powers would be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to restore them or remove him from office.

He has also separately been placed under criminal investigation for alleged insurrection over the martial law declaration.

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Authorities have banned him and others - including former defence minister Kim Yong Hyun, under investigation on insurrection charges - from travelling overseas.

Officials said on Wednesday that Mr Kim, the first person arrested over the martial law decree, tried to take his own life while being held in detention. The country's justice ministry has said he is in a stable condition.