South Korean president faces impeachment after attempt to impose martial law

Photo: Philip Fong Agence France-Presse “Yoon Suk-yeol should resign,” reads this placard held up by a protester in Seoul.

Kang Jin-kyu – Agence France-Presse and Théo Mattiolo – Agence France-Presse in Seoul

Published at 7:09

• Asia

South Korea's opposition announced Wednesday that it is filing a motion to impeach conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol in parliament after his failed attempt to impose martial law.

The motion, which will require a two-thirds majority to pass, could be put to a vote as early as Friday, the six opposition parties in parliament, including the center-left Democratic Party, said at a news conference.

Mr. Yoon, whose popularity ratings were already at rock bottom, has been pushed into a corner by both the opposition and his own party after he declared martial law in a surprise speech late Tuesday, only to rescind the measure just six hours later under pressure from lawmakers and the public.

In the context of difficulties in passing the budget, the president had justified this coup by saying he wanted to “eliminate elements hostile to the state” and “protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces.”

M. Yoon, who was narrowly elected in 2022 and has never had a majority in Parliament, had pointed to a “legislative dictatorship” and accused opposition elected officials of blocking “all budgets essential to the nation’s primary functions.”

Photo: Anthony Wallace Agence France-Presse South Koreans continued to demand the resignation of their president on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.

Soldiers in Parliament

After Mr. Yoon’s announcement, troops were deployed and army helicopters landed on the roof of parliament, but lawmakers were able to convene in a hurry to pass a resolution demanding the measure be repealed.

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Hundreds of protesters had meanwhile gathered outside parliament to demand the bill be withdrawn and the president’s resignation.

The imposition of martial law meant a suspension of political life, a shutdown of parliament and a control over the media.

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the presidential election to Mr. Yoon, called the measure “illegal.”

“We will file charges of rebellion” against the president, his defense and interior ministers and “key figures in the military and police, such as the martial law commander (an army general, editor's note) and the police chief,” the Democratic Party announced on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun announced that he had offered his resignation to the president. “I deeply regret and take full responsibility for the confusion and concern caused to the public by martial law,” he said in a statement.

Even Mr. Yoon's party, the People Power Party, distanced itself from the president's initiative.

“The president must explain this tragic situation immediately and in detail,” party leader Han Dong-hoon said on television, stressing that “all those responsible will be held accountable.”

The president's chief of staff and several advisers “submitted their collective resignations” this morning, according to Yonhap news agency.

The Korean Trade Union Confederation, the country's largest trade union with some 1.2 million members, called for an “indefinite general strike” until Mr. Yoon resigns, saying he had “signed his own end to power.”

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Yoon “has gone crazy”

By early Wednesday evening, the head of state had still not reappeared in public.

In total, more than 280 military personnel stormed the parliament, according to Yonhap. A total of 190 out of 300 lawmakers still managed to gather in the chamber, where special forces soldiers were trying to enter. They managed to unanimously pass a motion calling for martial law to be lifted.

In front of the building, which was sealed overnight, protesters shouted, “Arrest Yoon Suk-yeol!” AFP reporters observed.

“Why did we have to come here after working all day, on a weekday?,” one protester shouted. “It’s because of this insane martial law decreed by Yoon, who has gone crazy,” shouted another protester, cheered by hundreds of people.

At dawn on Wednesday, Mr. Yoon finally decided to announce on television the lifting of martial law and the withdrawal of troops deployed in the capital, prompting cheers from protesters.

Martial law was last activated in 1980, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest a military coup. Those protests were bloodily suppressed.

The Seoul stock market ended down 1.4 percent on Wednesday, undermined by the events of the night.