SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA), DEC 4 (AP) — South Korea's opposition
parties Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over
the shocking and short-lived martial law that drew heavily armed troops to
encircle parliament before lawmakers climbed walls to reenter the building and
unanimously voted to lift his order.
Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds
of parliament, and at least six justices of the nine-member Constitutional
Court would have to endorse it to remove him from office.
The motion, submitted jointly by the main liberal
opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put
to a vote as early as Friday.
Yoon's senior policy advisers and Defense Minster Kim
Yong Hyun offered to resign as the nation struggles to make sense of what
appeared to be a poorly-thought-out stunt. The Democratic Party on Wednesday
submitted a separate motion to impeach Kim, who it alleged recommended the
martial law declaration to Yoon.
In his speech announcing the abrupt order Tuesday night,
Yoon vowed to eliminate “anti-state” forces and continued to criticise the
Democratic Party's attempts to impeach key government officials and senior
prosecutors. But martial law lasted only about six hours, as the National
Assembly voted to overrule Yoon before his Cabinet formally lifted it around
4:30 am.
The Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the
300-seat parliament, said Wednesday that its lawmakers decided to call on Yoon
to quit immediately or they would take steps to impeach him.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration was a
clear violation of the constitution. It didn't abide by any requirements to
declare it,” a party statement said. “His martial law declaration was
originally invalid and a grave violation of the constitution. It was a grave
act of rebellion and provides perfect grounds for his impeachment.”
What happens if Yoon is impeached?
Impeaching him would require support from 200 of the
National Assembly's 300 members. The Democratic Party and other small
opposition parties together have 192 seats. But the rejection of Yoon's martial
law declaration in a 190-0 vote included the votes of 18 lawmakers from Yoon's
ruling People Power Party, according to National Assembly officials.
PPP leader Han Dong-hun and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, also
a member, criticised Yoon's martial law declaration.
Cho Jinman, a professor at Seoul's Duksung Women's
University, said it's highly likely that lawmakers will back Yoon's impeachment
motion given that some from the ruling party already voted down his edict.
If Yoon is impeached, he'll be stripped of his
constitutional powers until the Constitutional Court rules. Prime Minister Han
Duck-soo, the No. 2 position in the South Korean government, would take over
his presidential responsibilities.
Han issued a public message pleading for patience and
calling for Cabinet members to “fulfill your duties even after this moment.”
The Constitutional Court has only six incumbent justices
following three retirements. That means all six must approve Yoon's possible
impeachment motion for it to succeed. They include those appointed after Yoon
took office, so the Democratic Party is expected to speed up the process of
exercising its rights to recommend two of the three new justices.
Yoon's martial law declaration, the first of its kind in
more than 40 years, harkened to South Korea's past military-backed governments
when authorities occasionally proclaimed martial law and other decrees that
allowed them to station combat soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles on streets
or at public places like schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.
Such scenes of military intervention had not been seen
since South Korea achieved a democracy in the late 1980s until Tuesday night.
Dramatic hours at the parliament
After Yoon's declaration, troops carrying full battle
gear, including assault rifles, tried to keep protesters away from the National
Assembly as military helicopters flew overhead and landed nearby. One soldier
pointed his assault rifle at a woman who was among protesters outside the
building demanding that the martial law be lifted.
It wasn't clear how the 190 lawmakers were able to enter
a parliamentary hall to vote down Yoon's martial law decree. Opposition leader
Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik were seen climbing
over walls. As troops and police officers blocked some from entering, they
didn't aggressively restrain or use force against others.
No major violence has been reported. The troops and
police personnel were later seen leaving the grounds of the National Assembly
after the parliamentary vote to lift the martial law. Woo said: “Even with our
unfortunate memories of military coups, our citizens have surely observed the
events of today and saw the maturity of our military.”
Under South Korea's constitution, the president can
declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable
national emergency states” that require the use of military force to restrict the
freedom of press, assembly and other rights to maintain order.
Many observers question whether South Korea is currently
in such a state.
The constitution also states that the president must
oblige when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a
majority vote.
A presidential official said that Yoon decided to impose
martial law as a way to resolve a political deadlock and did it in the middle
of night to minimise its negative impacts on the economy. The official
requested anonymity to discuss sensitive nature of the issue.
Some experts say Yoon clearly violated the constitution
in how he imposed martial law. While martial law allows “special measures” to
restrict individual freedoms and the authority of agencies and courts, the
constitution does not permit the functions of parliament to be restricted.
But in following Yoon's declaration on Tuesday, South
Korea's military proclaimed parliamentary activities were suspended and
deployed troops to try to block lawmakers from entering the National Assembly.
Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party's floor leader,
called for Yoon to be immediately investigated on charges of rebellion over the
way he deployed troops to the parliament. While the president mostly enjoys
immunity from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to
alleged rebellion or treason.
In Washington, the White House said the US was “seriously
concerned” by the events in Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security
Council said President Joe Biden's administration was not notified in advance
of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean
government.
In Seoul, the streets seemed busy like a normal day
Wednesday.
Tourist Stephen Rowan, from Brisbane, Australia, who was
touring Gyeongbokgung Palace, said he was not concerned at all.
“But then again, I don't understand too much about the
political status in Korea,” he said. “But I hear they are now calling for the
current president's resignation, so ... apparently there's going to be a lot of
demonstrations. ... I would have been concerned if martial law had stayed
enforced.”
Natalia Slavney, research analyst at the Stimson Centre's
38 North website that focuses on Korean affairs, said Yoon's imposition of
martial law was “a serious backslide of democracy” that followed a “worrying
trend of abuse” since he took office in 2022.
South Korea's opposition parties submit a motion to impeach
