AFP, Reuters, Putnik and Xinhua

La Jornada Newspaper
Thursday, December 5, 2024, p. 24

Seoul. South Korean legislators yesterday formally presented a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol and accused him of trying to evade criminal investigations into him and his family by imposing martial law on Tuesday that he had to withdraw hours later due to popular pressure.

The Democratic Party, the main opposition, and five other minor political groups presented the initiative under the accusation of broadly and seriously violate the Constitution.

The bill, which will be voted on Saturday, must have a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the support of eight deputies from the People’s Power Party (PPP), to which President Yoon belongs.

If approved, the South Korean Constitutional Court will decide whether to confirm the requirement in a process that could last up to 180 days.

The Democratic Party also filed a lawsuit for insurrection against the president and some of his ministers and senior military and police officers, who could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

The PPP leader explained that he asked Yoon to leave the party, but reported that the party opposes the impeachment process initiated by the opponents.

Thousands march in Seoul

Thousands of South Koreans marched in the capital with banners and candles to demand the dismissal of the head of state for having plunged the country into a situation that threatened its almost 40 years of democracy.

Yoon would become the second South Korean president to be impeached since mass protests against an influence-peddling scandal led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.

Meanwhile, Yoon accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and appointed the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, in his place, the Yonhap agency reported.

Kim apologized to the country’s population for the turmoil resulting from the imposition of martial law and submitted his resignation.