South Korean president is impeached over martial law declaration
South Korean lawmakers are set to vote for a second time Saturday on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law.
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean lawmakers voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law, which plunged the East Asian democracy and key U.S. ally into chaos.
The vote was 204 in favor and 85 against, with three abstentions and eight votes ruled invalid. All 300 lawmakers in the unicameral National Assembly voted on the motion, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.
“Dear people, now go and enjoy the year-end parties,” Woo Won-sik, the speaker of the National Assembly, said after the motion passed.
The motion held that Yoon’s declaration of martial law was unconstitutional and illegal because there were no signs of national emergency and he neglected to follow procedural rules such as notifying the National Assembly in advance.
Supporters of the motion included members of Yoon’s governing People Power Party (PPP), whose boycott of an earlier impeachment vote had caused it to fail. Though the opposition controls parliament, it holds only 192 seats and needed support from at least eight PPP lawmakers to impeach Yoon.
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