Drama unfolds in South Korea after 104 out of 108 ruling party leaders boycott Yoon impeachment vote

In a major turn of events, South Korea’s ruling party People’s Power Party lawmakers walked out of the parliament as the country’s National Assembly voted on two crucial bills, one of them being the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The impeachment motion was filed by the opposition parties after Yoon declared a botched martial law across the country.

The move left the country in shambles with the South Korean lawmakers barging into the parliament and calling off the martial law, six hours after it was implemented. Yoon, not only received backlash from the opposition, but his supporters from the PPP also called for his resignation. However, when the motion asking Yoon to step down was introduced in the parliament, members of the PPP stepped outside the voting chamber.

For the impeachment motion to be successful, the opposition needs just 8 votes supporting the motion from ruling party lawmakers. With the walkout from PPP, many are speculating that the South Korean president might survive the impeachment motion.

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How it started

During a plenary parliamentary session held on Saturday, lawmakers of the PPP filed out of a parliamentary hall after casting their votes for the first bill introduced in the session. The bill called for the establishment of a special counsel investigation into First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s corruption allegations.

However, the bill failed to pass in the South Korean National Assembly by just 2 votes. While 198 lawmakers supported the bill, the motion needed 200 votes to succeed in the parliament. The Opposition has 192 votes with them. Hence, the fate of the South Korean president remains unclear since the opposition needs a few votes for the motion to be passed.

Things changed a little bit when the impeachment motion was introduced in the national parliament. While the whole saga was playing out, one PPP lawmaker did not support the walkout and three lawmakers came back and took part in the voting.

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Ahn Cheol-soo was the only People Power Party lawmaker who remained in the voting chamber when the walkout was first staged. Before the voting, he had publicly said that he would back Yoon’s impeachment. After a while, Kim Ye-ji of PPP also returned to the chamber to vote.

Shortly after that, two more MPs from the party returned to the chamber, garnering thunderous applause from opposition lawmakers. Hence, four PPP members are currently seated in the South Korean parliament. While it is not clear which way these lawmakers voted, if they voted against Yoon, the opposition will need only four lawmakers to successfully pass the motion.

PPP lawmakers chided by speaker and protesters

While the opposition lawmakers started voting, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik of the Democratic Party chided the PPP lawmakers from walking away. He went on to ask the PPP members to return to the chamber and cast their votes.

“The Republic of Korea is a democracy that’s made of people’s blood and tears,” he said. “Are you not afraid of being judged by history, by the people, and by the world?” he asked. The Speaker emphasized that taking part in the voting process is the only way to save the democracy in the country. “Participate in the voting, that’s how you protect our democracy,” he remarked.

The PPP lawmakers also received major backlash from protesters who are holding demonstrations outside the country’s parliament. Outside the assembly, at the massive protest rally, a speaker read out the names of every People Power Party lawmaker who walked out.

“Go back in, join the vote,” the crowds kept chanting after the speaker read out each name. Soon after this, chants of “Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, impeach Yoon Suk Yeol!” were also heard outside the chamber as the protesters surrounded the National Assembly. If the impeachment motion is not passed, Yoon will remain in power. If the lawmakers vote to impeach the president, the case will go to the Constitutional Court.

The South Korean Prime Minister will take over and the elections will be held in 60 days. Meanwhile, the court, which has 6 out of 9 judges, will have 180 days to decide whether to impeach the president or not. Since the motion was proposed on Friday midnight, the deadline to complete the voting process will be until Sunday.

Amid the chaos, PPP also started holding a party meeting while the plenary session was going on, sparking condemnation from DP. Speaker Woo Won-Shik later mentioned that PPP sent a message that they would not attend the meeting. However, Woo still kept the doors open and insisted that the party would be waiting for the lawmakers to cast their votes. Hence, the fate of Yoon continues to remain hanging.

With inputs from agencies.