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Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, may be impeached for imposing martial law and deploying heavily armed troops onto the streets of Seoul, which many compared to the military-backed dictatorships of the past.
Just hours after parliament overwhelmingly decided to end martial law, lawmakers started the impeachment process against Yoon, which compelled the president to revoke his decision roughly six hours after it started. In order to proceed to the Constitutional Court, which would make a decision regarding his removal from office, the vote, which could take place as early as Friday, would require the backing of two-thirds of the National Assembly.
What you need to know about the scenario is as follows:
What is martial law in South Korea?
The president of South Korea is authorized by the constitution to use the military to maintain law and order in "wartime, war-like situations, or other comparable national emergency states." Martial law can be imposed by temporarily restricting the authority of the courts and government organizations, as well as by suspending civil liberties such as the freedom of the press and assembly.
With a majority vote, the National Assembly can also revoke the proclamation, according to the constitution. When lawmakers learned of Yoon's declaration late Tuesday, they hurried to the building. In order to gather a quorum, several scaled the walls to get beyond the military perimeter. The injunction was lifted by a 190-0 vote that included 18 members of Yoon's party.
According to the impeachment motion, Yoon declared martial law in circumstances that did not satisfy the constitutional requirement of a serious crisis and were well outside his authority. Additionally, a president cannot suspend parliament by using the military, according to the constitution. According to the motion, it was insurrection to halt political party activity and send troops to close the National Assembly.
South Korea's President Yoon blamed an ‘anti-state’ plot against him.
In his late-Tuesday declaration, Yoon accused the major opposition parties of backing North Korea, the nation's adversary, and pledged to eradicate "anti-state" groups he claimed were planning an uprising.
Yoon invoked the threat of North Korea as a disruptive element without providing concrete proof. Yoon has long said that the only way to prevent Pyongyang from carrying out its nuclear threats against Seoul is to take a tough stance against the North.
In addition to dealing with corruption accusations involving himself and his spouse, Yoon has had difficulty advancing his agenda in a parliament controlled by the opposition.
Is the President going to be impeached?
Between Friday and Sunday, the motion to impeach Yoon can be put to a vote. If the existing motion is unsuccessful or expires, a new one may be filed later. Impeachment of Yoon would need the backing of 200 of the 300 members of the single-chamber National Assembly, or two-thirds of the assembly. Yoon's conservative People Power Party may need to endorse the measure, as opposition groups own 192 seats.
Although the PPP is against the resolution, it is uncertain whether members will vote against it or whether the party will boycott, which would alter the number of votes required.
Yoon would be suspended pending the Constitutional Court's decision on whether to remove him from office if they impeach him. The second-ranking member of the South Korean government, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, would assume the duties of the president.
Six votes are needed to remove the president from office, and the Constitutional Court currently has three vacancies as a result of retirements. It is anticipated that the Democratic Party will expedite the process of utilizing its authority to suggest two of the three new justices.
President Yoon has been struggling politically in these past months.
The proclamation of martial law was immediately attributed to Yoon's political difficulties.
Since assuming power in 2022, he has had limited success in having his initiatives approved by an opposition-controlled parliament.
The opposition actions, according to conservatives, are political retaliation for inquiries into Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party and the front-runner for the 2027 presidential election.
Yoon and his wife were involved in an influence-peddling incident only this month, although Yoon denied any involvement. His approval ratings have suffered as a result of the allegations, and his opponents have increased their attacks.
According to the scandal, Myung Tae-kyun, an election broker and the founder of a polling firm that provided free opinion surveys for Yoon prior to his election as president, requested that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee improperly influence the conservative ruling People Power Party to select a particular candidate to run in a 2022 parliamentary by-election.
According to Yoon, he did nothing against the law.
South Korea has a dark history of martial law.
In order to quell anti-government protests, leaders of the dictatorships that arose as South Korea recovered from the Korean War in 1950–1953 sometimes declared martial rule, which gave them the authority to station combat troops, tanks, and armored vehicles on the streets or in public areas.
In the early hours of May 16, 1961, Army Gen. Park Chung-hee led thousands of troops into Seoul in the nation's first coup. Before being killed by his intelligence chief in 1979, he presided over South Korea for almost 20 years, enforcing martial law multiple times to quell uprisings and imprisoning dissidents.
In December 1979, less than two months after Park's passing, Maj. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan led troops and tanks into Seoul in the nation's second coup. He planned a violent military crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju the next year, which resulted in the deaths of at least 200 people.
Large-scale street demonstrations in the summer of 1987 compelled Chun's administration to concede to direct presidential elections. Due in significant part to the split votes of liberal opposition candidates, Roh Tae-woo, his army friend who had participated in Chun's 1979 revolution, won the election later in 1987.