After the South Korean parliament voted… How is the president removed?
Today, Saturday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faced for the second time a motion to impeach him before Parliament due to his failed attempt to impose martial law and silence parliamentarians on December 3.
Thousands of demonstrators are gathering outside the National Assembly in Seoul at the time of the parliamentary vote to demand the departure of the unpopular president, who is under investigation for “rebellion” and banned from leaving the country.
The organizers promised to distribute meals to the demonstrators to boost their morale despite the low temperatures.
K-pop singer Yuri, of the group Girls Generation, whose song “Into the New World” became a protest anthem, announced that she had paid in advance for food for the rally participants.
A first impeachment motion submitted by the opposition on December 7 failed because most of the deputies from Yoon’s People Power Party left the chamber before the vote, to prevent a quorum from being reached.
How to impeach the president of South Korea
The opposition, led by the Democratic Party, has 192 seats and the People’s Power Party has 108 seats.
Thus, Yoon’s opponents need to win the votes of at least eight representatives from the People Power Party in order to bring down the president.
On Friday, seven representatives of the People Power Party publicly stated that they would vote in favor of impeachment, which means that the results of the vote will be close.
If the impeachment motion is passed, Yoon’s duties will be suspended until the Constitutional Court approves his impeachment.
Prime Minister Han Dak-soo will secure the transition.
Expectations of massive Korean demonstrations
Protests are scheduled to be held in major Korean cities, where demonstrators will call on members of parliament to support the impeachment of the president in their second attempt to get rid of him, according to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday.
South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament (National Assembly) is scheduled to vote today on a new bill to impeach President Yoon over his failed attempt to impose martial law last week.
The first proposal to impeach Yoon was canceled last Saturday due to a lack of a quorum after most representatives of the ruling People Power Party, to which Yoon belongs, boycotted the vote.
The main opposition Democratic Party and five other small opposition parties on Thursday submitted the proposal, and the proposal was introduced in the National Assembly the next day, where they claimed that Yoon’s declaration of martial law violates the constitution and other laws.
Added to the proposal recently were allegations that martial law forces and police attempted to arrest lawmakers under the leadership of the president.
If the proposal passes in a parliamentary vote, the Constitutional Court will decide whether Yoon will be reinstated or removed, according to Yonhap.
If the impeachment decision is upheld by the court, Yoon will be the second president in the history of South Korea to be impeached after former President Park Geun-hye.
- For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter