On December 14, 2024, the South Korean National Assembly will convene a plenary session on Saturday to vote on the second impeachment case against South Korean President Yoon Seok-yul.
Yoon Seok-yul imposed martial law for just six hours on December 3, a move that plunged South Korea into a constitutional crisis and sparked calls for his resignation.
The opposition party plans to hold the impeachment vote at 4 pm local time on Saturday, with plans for a large-scale protest before the vote.
A week ago, Yoon Seok-yul’s party, the National Power Party, boycotted the first impeachment vote, leading to the vote failing to reach the required number of votes.
Subsequently, the leader of the National Power Party, Han Dong-hyeon, urged party members to support impeachment in the Saturday vote, with at least 7 members indicating they will vote in favor of impeachment.
The second impeachment case was jointly initiated by the six opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, Homeland Renewal Party, Reform New Party, Progressive Party, Basic Income Party, and Social Democratic Party, comprising a total of 191 members and one independent member. The case was submitted to the full parliament on Friday afternoon.
The Korean parliament has a total of 300 seats, with the opposition controlling 192 seats, thus they need at least 8 National Power Party members to defect to reach the two-thirds impeachment threshold.
On Saturday, National Power Party member Ahn Je-soo, who supports impeachment, wrote on Facebook, “To stabilize people’s livelihoods, the economy, and diplomacy swiftly”, he will vote in favor of impeachment.
However, on Friday, the National Power Party stated that the party’s overall position remains against impeachment. Party members will decide in a meeting on Saturday morning whether to change this stance.
If impeached, Yoon Seok-yul will be suspended from office, and the Prime Minister Han Deok-su will serve as acting president, with the Constitutional Court reviewing the impeachment case. According to regulations, the impeachment trial must not exceed 180 days.
If the court dismisses Yoon Seok-yul from office or he resigns, a presidential election must be held within 60 days.
Yoon Seok-yul is also facing a criminal investigation for alleged sedition, with authorities banning him from traveling abroad.
Yoon Seok-yul has stated that he has no intention to resign and vowed to “fight to the end” in a speech on Thursday, arguing that martial law was necessary to break the political deadlock and protect the country from the harm caused by politicians undermining democracy.
Yoon Seok-yul was elected in 2022 and initially received widespread acclaim from Washington and other Western countries for his defense of global democracy and freedom of speech. However, critics argue that this has overshadowed increasingly serious domestic issues.
This crisis and the ensuing uncertainty have shaken the financial markets. However, the South Korean stock market rose by 0.5% on Friday, marking the fourth consecutive day of gains, as the market hopes to calm the political instability after the impeachment vote over the weekend.