South Korea’s ruling party to vote against impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol
SEOUL – Following a morning meeting, South Korea’s ruling party confirmed a decision to uphold its position and vote against the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, local media reported.
President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a second impeachment vote over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that shocked the country, split his party, and imperilled his presidency halfway through his term.
In parallel, large demonstrations are expected ahead of the vote.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party boycotted the first impeachment vote a week earlier, preventing a quorum.
Since then, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon has urged party members to vote for impeachment this time, and at least seven PPP members have said they would vote to impeach.
The opposition parties need at least eight PPP votes to impeach Yoon, as they control 192 of the 300 seats in the single-chamber parliament, and impeachment requires a two-thirds majority.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a PPP lawmaker backing Yoon’s impeachment, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that he would vote for impeachment “for the sake of swift stabilization of people’s livelihood, economy, and diplomacy.”
The PPP floor leader said on Friday, however, that the party’s stance remained to oppose impeachment.
Accordingly, the main opposition Democratic Party considered that stance a “treason against the people.”
If impeached, Yoon would lose authority but remain in office until the Constitutional Court either removes or reinstates him. In the meantime, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would serve as acting president.
A presidential election must be held within 60 days if the court removes Yoon or he resigns.
In a speech on Thursday, he vowed he would “fight to the end,” defending his martial law decree as necessary to overcome political deadlock and protect the country from domestic politicians who he said were undermining democracy.
A Gallup Korea poll on Friday found two-thirds of supporters of Yoon’s party opposing the impeachment, though three-quarters of all respondents supported it.
