South Korea's president faces impeachment due to martial law

South Korea's opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing pressure to resign hours after his short-lived martial law ended.

The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition party, the Democratic Party, and five other smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as soon as Friday.

Yoon's senior advisers and secretariat have offered to resign collectively. Meanwhile, members of his cabinet, including Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, also face calls to resign.

On Tuesday evening, Yoon suddenly declared martial law, vowing to root out "anti-state" forces, after struggling to push his agenda through the opposition-dominated Parliament. But his martial law was in place for only about six hours after the National Assembly voted to overturn it.

The opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat Parliament, said on Wednesday its lawmakers decided to call on Yoon to resign immediately, or they would take steps to impeach him.

“President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law was a clear violation of the Constitution. He did not fulfill any of the requirements for his announcement", said the Democratic Party in a statement.

"The declaration of martial law by him was initially invalid and a serious violation of the Constitution. It was a serious act of rebellion and provides perfect grounds for his dismissal," according to her.

Two-thirds of the votes in Parliament, or the votes of 200 of its 300 members, are needed to dismiss Yoon. The Democratic Party and other small opposition parties together have 192 seats. But when Parliament overturned Yoon's declaration of martial law by a vote of 190-0, 18 lawmakers from Yoon's People's Power party voted to overturn martial law, according to National Assembly officials.

If Yoon is impeached, he will be stripped of his constitutional powers until the Constitutional Court decides his fate. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the number two man in the South Korean Government, will assume presidential responsibilities.

At least six of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court must support the motion presented by the MPs to remove Yoon from office. But right now the court has only six judges after the retirement of three of them, which is one short of the minimum of seven judges needed to handle a case like the impeachment of the president.

Following Yoon's decision to declare martial law, troops in full combat gear, including rifles, attempted to keep protesters away from the National Assembly as military helicopters flew over and around and landed nearby.

It is not clear how the 190 lawmakers were able to get into the parliament hall to vote to overturn Yoon's decision to declare martial law.

No major violence has been reported. The army and police left the premises of the National Assembly late after the MPs voted to overturn martial law.

People's Power Party leader Han Dong-hun asked Yoon to explain why he made that decision and to fire Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who had advised him to declare martial law.

Under South Korea's Constitution, the president can declare martial law during "time of war, war-like situations, or other national emergencies," which require the use of military force to restrict freedom of the press, assembly and freedom of expression. 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 honor the National Assembly's request to lift martial law by a majority vote.

Some experts say Yoon clearly violated the Constitution in the way he declared martial law. While martial law allows for "special measures" to limit individual liberties and the authority of agencies and courts, the Constitution does not allow the work of Parliament to be limited.

But implementing Yoon's decision on Tuesday, the South Korean Army announced the suspension of parliamentary activities and sent troops to prevent lawmakers from entering the National Assembly./ REL