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The impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-sol has been passed in South Korea on Saturday. According to Al Jazeera’s report, 204 votes were cast against him in the Parliament while only 85 votes were cast in his support.
The President’s powers have been immediately suspended after Parliament passed the impeachment motion against Yoon. Now Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president.
President Yoon imposed martial law in the country on the night of 3 December. However, after huge protests, he withdrew his decision within 6 hours. After this step of Yoon, he was facing a lot of opposition in South Korea. Last Saturday also an impeachment motion was brought to remove him but it was passed by a few votes.
As soon as the impeachment motion was passed in the Parliament of South Korea, people started celebrating on the streets.
Impeachment motion passed, what now?
After the impeachment, the proposal will now be presented before the court. Further process will be started only if 6 out of 9 judges give verdict against the President. Elections have to be held within 60 days of impeachment. During this period, the powers of the President are in the hands of the Prime Minister.
Why did President Yole need to impose martial law?
There are a total of 300 seats in the Parliament of South Korea. In the elections held earlier this year, the public had given a huge mandate to the opposition party DPK. The ruling People Power got only 108 seats, while the opposition party DPK got 170 seats. Due to being in majority, the opposition DPK was interfering more in the functioning of the presidential government, and they were not able to work as per their agenda.
President Yole won the election in 2022 by a slim margin. After this his popularity started declining. His image was also affected due to his wife being involved in many controversies. At present the popularity of the President is around 17%, which is the lowest among all the Presidents of the country.
To deal with all this, the President imposed martial law. He accused the DPK of sympathizing with North Korea and engaging in anti-national activities.
President Yoon announcing the lifting of martial law in South Korea on December 3
Why did martial law end in South Korea in just 6 hours?
After President Yole’s declaration of martial law, the entire opposition reached Parliament within a short time. There should be more than 150 MPs in the Parliament to remove the martial law law. By the time the army arrived to capture the Parliament, enough MPs had reached the Parliament and the proceedings had started.
However, the army tried to stop the proceedings. Many opposition MPs who were going to vote in Parliament were detained. Started breaking the windows of the Parliament to enter inside. But, by the time the soldiers reached inside, 190 out of 300 MPs of the National Assembly voted down the President’s martial law proposal.
Voting took place in the National Assembly of South Korea on the night of 3 December to lift martial law.
According to the Constitution of South Korea, if the majority of MPs in the Parliament demand removal of martial law in the country, then the government will have to accept it. Opposition leaders took advantage of this provision of the Constitution and the army had to stop its operations.
The army immediately evacuated the Parliament and returned. There were helicopters above the Parliament and military tanks deployed on the road, they had to go back.
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Also read this news related to South Korea…
The President imposed martial law in South Korea: The army arrived to surround the Parliament, but by then the MPs had already voted; had to withdraw within 6 hours
South Korean President Yun Suk Yeol has withdrawn the order to impose martial law in the country. The President had announced the imposition of martial law at 7 pm (Indian time) on 3 December, after which protests broke out across the country and a situation of anarchy was created. Read the full news…