South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol apologizes for failed martial law; assembly votes on embattled leader’s impeachment

This comes days after Yoon hastily declared martial rule.

On Saturday, December 7, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol delivered his first speech in days, where he apologized for declaring the East Asian nation’s first martial law order in 44 years last Tuesday, December 3.

The embattled politician said that he made the decision from his “desperation as the ultimate responsible party for state affairs.”

Yoon also added that he will be facing the legal repercussions of his order, which only lasted six hours after the National Assembly went against his decree in a 190-0 vote.

Despite that, he did not mention about the possibility of stepping down, with the state affairs being handed over to the ruling People Power party.

His statement comes hours before the commencement of a special session in the South Korean National Assembly, which voted on the impeachment motion brought against Yoon on Saturday evening.

But, prior to that, lawmakers first opposed a bill that seeks to appoint a special prosecutor that would investigate Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Drama continued to unfold after all members, except one, of the ruling People Power party left the hall shortly before the second bill has been put forward, which is the one on Yoon’s impeachment.

Although, Speaker Woo Won Shik called the members to return for the voting.

However, after the walkout, the opposition-led assembly failed to reach a majority that resulted to the voting to stall.

With this development, it is presumed that the opposition, Democratic Party, will revisit the motion during an upcoming session on Wednesday, December 11.

Yoon Suk Yeol declares emergency martial law in South Korea

South Korean parliament shuts down Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law order

In his previous declaration last Tuesday, Yoon said that he declared martial law, the first in South Korea since the dictatorship under former President Chun Doo Hwan in 1980, in order to stop “anti-state agents” — who he claimed without proof to be in support of North Korea.

Yoon Suk Yeol, 64, was elected in March 2022 after garnering more than 16.3 million votes, over 200,000 more against his rival Lee Jae Myung, currently the leader of the opposition Democratic party.

Since then, Yoon’s public approval rating continued to dip and stood at about 19% before the martial law decree.

Many citizens have been critical of his handling of multiple domestic affairs, such as the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush and the crisis in the medical field, which has resulted to strikes from many workers in the sector.

Yoon’s party also suffered the consequences, as during the 2024 parliamentary elections, they only mustered to secure 103 seats, while the opposition Democratic party won as the majority party in the assembly with 173 seats.

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