South Korean opposition begins push to impeach president

SEOUL: South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday accused President Yoon Suk Yeol of declaring martial law to stop criminal investigations into himself and his family, as they kickstarted a push to impeach him.

Yoon´s declaration of South Korea´s first martial law in over four decades was swiftly overturned by lawmakers in a night of drama, but has plunged the country into political turmoil and alarmed its close allies.

The future of Yoon, a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022, now looks highly uncertain.

After jumping fences and tussling with security forces to get into parliament and vote down the martial law overnight, South Korea´s opposition lawmakers have filed a motion to impeach Yoon.

The motion says Yoon “gravely and extensively violated the constitution and the law” and accuses him of imposing martial law “with the unconstitutional and illegal intent to evade imminent investigations... into alleged illegal acts involving himself and his family”.

Lawmakers could vote on the motion as soon as the early hours of Friday morning and Yoon´s prospects look bleak.

The opposition holds a large majority in the 300-member parliament and needs only a handful of defections from the president´s party to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion.

The main opposition Democratic Party has also filed a complaint of “insurrection” against the president, some of his ministers and top military and police officials -- which can carry a penalty of life imprisonment or even death.

In a show of public anger with the president, thousands of protesters converged around his office in central Seoul on Wednesday evening after staging a rally in Gwanghwamun Square, demanding Yoon quit.

But lawmakers from the party then decided to oppose the motion to impeach Yoon, Yonhap news agency reported early on Thursday.

In his late-night television announcement imposing martial law on Tuesday, Yoon cited the threat of North Korea and “anti-state forces”.

More than 280 troops, some flown in by helicopters, arrived at parliament to lock down the site.

But 190 lawmakers defied rifle-carrying soldiers to force their way into parliament to vote against the move.

The constitution says martial law must be lifted when a parliamentary majority demands it, leaving Yoon with little choice but to retract his decision and call off the military in another television address six hours later.