Protest: South Korea National Assembly Impeaches President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea’s National Assembly voted on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, suspending him from office amid a political crisis over his controversial attempt to impose martial law.

Recall on December 3, thousands of South Koreans took to the streets, marching in mass toward the presidential palace and the National Assembly building, demanding Yoon’s resignation and accusing him of undermining democracy.

The impeachment motion, passed with 204 out of 300 lawmakers voting in favour, came as public outrage over Yoon’s actions reached a boiling point.

Demonstrators waved banners and chanted slogans in central Seoul, calling for an end to Yoon’s presidency, with  “chants of “no to martial law”. 

With Yoon suspended from office, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will temporarily assume the role of acting president while the Constitutional Court reviews the impeachment decision.

The court has up to 180 days to deliberate and determine whether to uphold Yoon’s removal. If the court rules against him, Yoon would become the second president in South Korea’s history to be successfully impeached, following Park Geun-hye’s ouster in 2017.

Yoon survived an impeachment attempt just days earlier but failed to quell growing opposition to his leadership. His failed bid to impose martial law, purportedly to curb alleged unrest, has sparked accusations of authoritarianism and drawn criticism.

The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in parliament, championed the impeachment effort, arguing it was essential to “safeguard the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy, and South Korea’s future.”

Democratic Party leaders said the president’s actions, coupled with his unsubstantiated claims that the opposition is allied with communist forces, threatened the nation’s stability.

Yoon, however, remains defiant, vowing to fight “until the very last minute” and dismissing the impeachment as a politically motivated attack.

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