Politics South Korea: New motion for the president's impeachment

In the deepening state crisis in South Korea, the largest opposition party has submitted a second motion for impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol to the National Assembly. The 300 members of parliament are to vote on the motion on Saturday (17:00 local time (09:00 Central European Time), as South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

An initial motion failed to achieve a quorum last Saturday following an almost unanimous boycott by the ruling party. Now, however, the chances of the motion achieving the required two-thirds majority are likely to be much higher. In addition to the 192 MPs from the opposition parties, at least eight more votes from MPs from the ruling party are required. As of midday local time on Friday, seven MPs from the ruling party have already publicly announced their intention to vote in favor of the motion. The chairman of the ruling party, Han Dong Hoon, had also openly declared his support for the project on Thursday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol unexpectedly imposed martial law on Tuesday last week and lifted it hours later after massive resistance. On Thursday, Yoon defended his decision during a televised speech called at short notice. He had declared martial law to protect the nation, the president said. His political opponents were "anti-state forces" that were paralyzing the government's work and disrupting the country's constitutional order.