SEOUL: South Korean lawmakers impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday over his attempt to impose martial law, a high-stakes move that must now be approved by judges.
Twelve conservative lawmakers joined opposition forces in the vote to impeach Yoon, who is just halfway through his single five-year term.
The impeachment suspends Yoon’s powers until the Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove him from office.
In the interim, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president.
Minutes before the vote, Yoon’s ruling People Power Party announced its opposition to impeachment but allowed members to vote freely, unlike the case of last week’s boycotted effort.
The decision, combined with the secret ballot, ultimately tipped the scales against Yoon.
The final vote was 204 in favor and 85 against. Outside the National Assembly, a crowd estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands erupted in cheers.
“It is really a matter of common sense versus nonsense,” said 48-year-old Seoul resident Lee Shin-mu, who attended the protest with his wife and middle school-aged son.
“I always believed that, if we just gave it some time, then impeachment would eventually happen.”
(VOA)
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