South Korea's Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid

14/12/2024 12:21

A defiant South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a second impeachment vote on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that shocked the country, split his party and imperilled his presidency half way through his term.



Yoon rescinded his Dec. 3 move to impose military rule barely six hours later, after the opposition-controlled parliament defied troops and police to vote against the decree. But it plunged the country into a constitutional crisis and triggered widespread calls for him to step down on the grounds that he had broken the law.



Opposition parties plan to hold an impeachment vote at 4 p.m., with large demonstrations planned ahead of the vote.



Yoon's conservative People Power Party boycotted the first impeachment vote a week earlier, preventing a quorum.



Since then, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon has urged party members to vote for impeachment this time, and at least seven PPP members have said they would vote to impeach.