The motion presented by the South Korean opposition to try to remove the country’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, for declaring martial law on Tuesday has not reached the necessary majority in Parliament to move forward, after the ruling party has saved to the president despite the criticism leveled against him in recent days.
For the measure to be approved, the support of 200 of the 300 legislators that make up the National Assembly was necessary, as well as more than half of the parliamentarians being present. None of the requirements have been met, since the vast majority of pro-government deputies have left the chamber and there have only been 195 ballots.
The president of the National Assembly, Woo Won Shik, has made a plea in vain for them to return to the plenary session and thus reach a quorum, although only a few have decided to break the party line and have returned, amid applause from the legislators who yes they were present.
The uncertainty due to the fear of dozens of deputies has led to the vote actually being open for several hours, since technically there was a margin until 00:48 (local time) on Sunday, 72 hours after the exact moment in which the opposition presented the motion. Woo, in view of the paralysis of the process, has finally given up on exhausting the deadline.
The First Lady will not be investigated
Yoon’s People’s Power Party has participated in a previous vote in which the opening of an investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee was proposed, for alleged manipulation of the shares of a car import company and the influence on the designation of electoral candidates.
However, this initiative has not prospered either, since it has achieved 198 of the 200 votes required by law. The other 102 deputies have voted against the creation of the commission, despite the fact that six members of the ruling wing have apparently broken the party line.
Massive protest
A crowd gathered this Saturday in the vicinity of Parliament to demand the resignation or dismissal of Yoon, who hours before gave a speech to ask for “sincere apologies” for declaring martial law on Wednesday after the worsening of the political dispute with the opposition.
Police estimate that around 150,000 people have participated in the protest, while organizers put the number up to one million, according to the Yonhap news agency. Another alternative protest in support of Yoon has also been held, with considerably lower attendance.
“The declaration of martial law was born out of desperation as president,” justified the president, in a speech in which he promised that he would “never” impose a similar measure again. The decree was only in force for a few hours, since the National Assembly overturned it early Wednesday amid scenes of militarization in the streets of Seoul and even in Parliament.
