Afp and Ap
La Jornada Newspaper
Sunday, December 15, 2024, p. 19
Seoul. The South Korean Parliament yesterday dismissed President Yoon Suk-yeol for his failed attempt to establish martial law on December 3, which opened an unprecedented political crisis in the country and caused massive demonstrations.
I feel deeply frustrated, but now I must step aside for a whileSuk-yeol said in a televised speech, calling for an end to the politics of excesses and confrontation.
Yoon’s drastic martial law, announced on a late-night television show, mentioned anti-state forcesbut it soon became clear that there were no such threats. The National Assembly (Parliament) approved the motion for his dismissal by 204 votes in favor and 85 against. The president’s presidential powers and duties were suspended, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s second most powerful official, assumed the executive branch temporarily.
The Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to formally remove Suk-yeol or restore his powers. If he is revoked, he will be the second president in the country’s history to end up like this, after the case of leader Park Geun-hye, who was arrested and sent to prison in 2017 after being dismissed for being at the center of a corruption scandal and abuse of power.
The leader of the National Assembly, Woo Won-shik, assured that the motion to dismiss Suk-yeol was a result that promoted the ardent desire for democracy, the courage and dedication of the peoplewhile the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, asserted that the fact shows the democratic resilience from South Korea.
At least 200,000 protesters, according to the police, gathered in front of Parliament and after the impeachment motion broke out in jubilation, waving banners and brandishing glow sticks popular in K-pop circles.
