Politics South Korea's ruling party leader calls for Yoon's impeachment

Shortly before the second vote on the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the leader of the ruling party has openly declared his support for the plan - changing his previous position.

"We must prevent further confusion. There is only one effective method left," Han Dong Hoon was quoted as saying by the South Korean news agency Yonhap. As Head of State Yoon has shown no willingness to relinquish the presidency prematurely, contrary to his previous promises, he supports the impeachment proceedings, Han said.

On Tuesday last week, Yoon unexpectedly imposed martial law on his country. Hours later, he reversed this decision after massive political resistance - his actions nevertheless led to mass protests in South Korea and criticism from abroad.

On Saturday evening, an initial opposition motion for impeachment proceedings against the president failed in parliament after the ruling party almost unanimously boycotted the vote. The opposition now wants to bring a second impeachment motion to a vote in plenary next Saturday. For it to succeed, it needs a two-thirds majority.

This time, ruling party leader Han does not want to boycott the vote - and instead demanded: "Our party must support impeachment as a party line."