SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Seok-yul narrowly avoided impeachment on Saturday over his brief declaration of martial law, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted the vote despite massive protests outside parliament.
Local Yonhap News reported on Saturday that the Democratic Party will introduce a new impeachment bill against Yeol on December 11, which will be voted on on December 14.
Yun stunned the nation and the international community by suspending the civilian government and sending the army into parliament on Tuesday night, but was forced to make a U-turn after lawmakers rejected his decree.
Opposition parties tabled an impeachment motion, which required a two-thirds majority to pass, but an almost total boycott by Yun’s People’s Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said the number of members voting did not reach the required two-thirds majority, saying the impeachment vote was “not valid”.
The country – and the world – is watching, he said, adding that it is very sad that such an important national issue could not even be voted on.
He said it indicated a “failure to engage in the democratic process” on the part of the ruling party.
The PPP claimed after the vote that it had put the impeachment on hold to avoid “deep division and chaos”, adding that it would “solve this crisis in a more orderly and responsible manner”.
Politically dead
The opposition vowed to try again on Wednesday, and many protesters vowed to continue demonstrations into next weekend.
“I will impeach Yoon Suk-yul, who has become the worst threat to South Korea,” said opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.
Before the vote, Yoon, 63, apologized for the uproar but said he would leave it to his party to decide its fate.
“I caused the public anxiety and distress. I am sincerely sorry,” he said in a televised address, his first public appearance in three days.
He said he would “entrust the party with measures to stabilize the political situation, including my tenure”.
The support from PPP lawmakers came despite party chief Han Dong-hoon – who was reportedly on the arrest list on Tuesday night – saying Yun must go.
Only three PPP lawmakers – Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Yea-ji and Kim Sang-wook – voted in the end.
If the motion were to pass, Yoon would have been suspended pending a decision by the Constitutional Court.
An opinion poll released Friday showed the president’s approval rating at a record low of 13 percent.
Regardless of the vote, police have begun investigating Yun and others for alleged sedition.