South Korea's Yoon survives martial law impeachment move after his party boycotts vote
Source: Reuters
December 7, 2024 7:51 AM EST Updated 6 min ago
SEOUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment motion in the opposition-led parliament on Saturday that was prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law this week, after members of his party boycotted the vote.
Only 195 votes were cast, below the threshold of 200 needed for the vote to count.
"The entire nation is watching the decision being made here at the National Assembly today. World is watching," National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said with a sigh. "It's very unfortunate that there wasn't even a vote."
The main opposition Democratic Party has said it will revive the impeachment motion next week if it failed on Saturday.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-president-yoon-address-nation-ahead-impeachment-vote-2024-12-07/
Article updated.
Original article/headline -
December 7, 2024 5:59 AM EST Updated 2 hours ago
SEOUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A vote to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief imposition of martial law was in limbo on Saturday, as members of his party walked out and the opposition called on them to return and vote. While lawmakers debated the motion, introduced by the main opposition Democratic Party, only a single member of Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) remained in his seat while a couple of others returned during voting, casting doubt over whether the measure would have enough votes to pass.
The lull was an odd counterpoint to the shouts and cursing in parliament that had preceded the vote, held four days after Yoon plunged Asia's fourth-largest economy and key U.S. military ally into its greatest political crisis in decades, threatening to shatter South Korea's reputation as a democratic success story. The opposition needs at least eight votes from the PPP to reach the needed two-thirds majority.
As PPP lawmakers departed after casting votes on a separate motion to appoint a special prosecutor in investigate the first lady, some people shouted and cursed them. When debate began on the impeachment motion, opposition lawmakers recited the names of the PPP members who had left. After voting began, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called on PPP members to return as opposition lawmakers settled in.
It was unclear how long they planned to wait, but the secretary of parliament said they had until 12:48 a.m. on Sunday (1548 GMT on Saturday) to wrap up the vote. One of the PPP members who returned told reporters he had voted against the impeachment motion as he did not agree with the bill, but still thought Yoon was not qualified to be president. Opposition leaders have said they would revisit the impeachment motion on Wednesday if it failed the first time.
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Now I guess South Korea decided to learn something from Mitch McConnell. 
