Anchor: The National Assembly passed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, accusing him of declaring martial law on December 3 in violation of the Constitution. At least 12 members of the ruling People Power Party(PPP), which boycotted last week’s impeachment vote, appear to have defected from the party line and sided with the opposition bloc.
Kim In-kyung has this report.
Report:
[Sound bite: National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announces impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean)]
President Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached, eleven days after briefly putting the nation under martial law.
In a plenary session at the National Assembly on Saturday, 204 lawmakers out of the 300 in attendance voted in favor, while 85 were opposed.
Another three abstained from voting, while eight ballots were spoiled.
It was the second impeachment vote in a week, after the first failed to attain the required quorum when all but three ruling party lawmakers followed the party line and boycotted the voting.
Succumbing to increasing pressure from an angry public, ruling People Power Party lawmakers attended the vote this time and cast enough ballots in favor to exceed the 200 minimum required to impeach the president.
The opposition bloc controls 192 seats in the 300-member chamber, so just eight ballots from the ruling party were necessary for the motion to pass.
It is a dramatic downfall for the conservative party, whose previous president, Park Geun-hye, was impeached for corruption and abuse of power.
Outside the National Assembly, tens of thousands of protesters roared with joy upon hearing the results of the vote. The sentiment was shared at rallies across the country.
A much smaller group showed up in central Seoul to support the president.
The impeachment motion accuses the president of violating the Constitutional principles of the separation of powers, and states that martial law troops and police under his command attempted to arrest lawmakers.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will take over as acting president while Yoon is suspended from his presidential duties.
It is now up to the Constitutional Court to decide whether to reinstate Yoon or to strip him of his presidency.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.