Political drama unfolded in South Korea 🇰🇷 as an impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk-yeol failed when ruling party lawmakers walked out of the parliament!
On Saturday, South Korea's National Assembly was buzzing with tension. The parliament was set to vote on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol. But in a surprising twist, most of the ruling People Power Party lawmakers walked out, leaving the vote short of the required numbers!
After voting against a bill to investigate scandals involving Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, 108 ruling party members decided to leave the hall. Only one stood firm, with two more returning after initially leaving. Talk about dramatic exits! 🚪
Out of 300 lawmakers, 198 voted for a special prosecutor to investigate the First Lady, but 102 voted against it. They needed at least two-thirds to pass the bill in a revote, but the walkout made that impossible.
Opposition parties weren't having it. They called out the ruling party members by name, urging them to return and cast their votes. Despite their efforts, the required quorum of more than 200 lawmakers wasn't met.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik had no choice but to end the voting process after waiting for nearly three hours. The impeachment motion was scrapped due to the lack of quorum.
Meanwhile, outside the parliament, hundreds of thousands of civilians held a candlelight rally 🕯️, demanding a vote on Yoon's impeachment. The people's voice was loud and clear!
The impeachment motion was submitted by the Democratic Party and five other minor parties. They accused President Yoon of declaring martial law without proper cause, alleging it violated the constitution.
Earlier, Yoon had declared an emergency martial law, which was later repealed after the parliament voted against it. The opposition claimed that there was no national emergency to justify such drastic measures.
According to a recent survey by local pollster Realmeter, a whopping 73.6% of voters supported Yoon's impeachment! Even in regions considered strongholds for the conservative bloc, support for impeachment was high.
President Yoon has been struggling with scandals involving his wife, Kim Keon-hee, accused of stock price manipulation and interfering in elections. Not exactly #CoupleGoals! 💔
Amidst these controversies, Yoon's approval rating has plummeted to 16%, the lowest since he took office in May 2022, according to Gallup Korea.
What's next for South Korea? Will political tensions ease, or is this just the beginning of more upheaval? Stay tuned! 📺
Reference(s):
South Korea's impeachment vote fails as ruling party walks out
cgtn.com
