South Korean Lawmakers Move To Impeach President Over Short-Lived Martial Law Order

[redrumloa]

South Korean Lawmakers Move To Impeach President Over Short-Lived Martial Law Order​

South Korean lawmakers are moving to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over a short-lived martial law declaration that was unanimously shot down in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Opposition parties in South Korea introduced a motion to impeach Yoon on Wednesday. That motion could be voted on as early as this week and would require a two-thirds majority to pass the unicameral National Assembly. Six of the nine justices on South Korea’s Constitutional Court would then have to approve the motion to remove Yoon from office, according to the Associated Press.

The opposition coalition in the National Assembly, led by South Korea’s Democratic Party, holds 191 seats in the 300-seat parliament, so the impeachment motion would need support from some members of Yoon’s own People Power Party to pass.

Parliament members voted unanimously 190-0 in an emergency session early Wednesday to rescind Yoon’s Tuesday martial law declaration. That vote included more than a dozen members from Yoon’s party.

The situation means that Yoon, a conservative politician who has been friendly with the United States, may be nearing the end of his political career. His martial law order shocked even members of his own party and inspired widespread backlash. Armed soldiers surrounded the National Assembly and clashed with protesters in a scene reminiscent of South Korea’s military rule of the 1980s.

I didn't have this on my bingo card for 2024. WTF is going on with South Korea?