Seoul, Dec 14 (EFE).- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached by the parliament on Saturday for having declared martial law on Dec. 3, state broadcaster KBS reported.
The National Assembly, in a plenary session, voted to remove the president with a two-thirds majority, with support from members of the Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP).
The impeachment resolution was passed, and 204 lawmakers out of all 300 in attendance voted in favor, while 85 were against it, three abstained from it, and eight ballots were spoiled.
This was the second attempt to impeach the leader after a first impeachment attempt failed on Saturday last week, as almost all PPP lawmakers abstained from voting.
Meanwhile, Yoon issued a statement defending his decision to declare martial law and said he would discharge his duties till the last moment.
“Holding in my heart all the criticism, encouragement, and support directed at me, I will do my best for the country until the very last moment,” he said.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is now expected to serve as the interim president until the Constitutional Court decides within 180 days whether to remove Yoon from office or reject the impeachment and restore his powers.
If the Constitutional Court ruling goes against Yoon, he would be the second incumbent president to be disqualified in South Korea after the conservative Park Geun-hye was removed from power and imprisoned in 2017 for a complex web of corruption.
The liberal Roh Moo-hyun was also ousted by the parliament in 2004 for an alleged violation of the election law. However, the Constitutional Court later ruled to reinstate him as president. EFE
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