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S.Korea minister quits as Yoon impeachment vote looms

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S.Korea minister quits as Yoon impeachment vote looms

South Korean opposition MPs will vote to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol over a botched attempt to impose martial law, while the defence minister blamed for advising the move resigned.

Yoon’s declaration of martial law late on Tuesday attempted to ban political activity and censor the media in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally, sparking outrage in the streets and concern around the world.

MPs from the opposition Democratic Party planned to put up a vote in parliament to impeach Yoon on Saturday night, a party spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.

President Yoon Suk-yeol's party will oppose impeachment because his term has only two years left. (AP PHOTO)
President Yoon Suk-yeol’s party will oppose impeachment because his term has only two years left. (AP PHOTO)

 

“The Yoon Suk-yeol regime’s declaration of emergency martial law caused great confusion and fear among our people,” Democratic Party MP Kim Seung-won told the National Assembly.

Yoon’s ruling People Power Party is divided over the crisis but said it would oppose impeachment with two years left in Yoon’s five-year term.

The Democratic Party needs at least eight of the 108 ruling-party MPs to back the bill for it to pass with a two-thirds majority of the 300-seat parliament.

Fighting for his political future, Yoon accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Thursday and nominated his ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, as a replacement.

Kim had recommended Yoon declare martial law on Tuesday, according to the interior minister, a senior military official and the filing to impeach Yoon by opposition members.

Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun has quit after recommending the president declare martial law. (AP PHOTO)
Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun has quit after recommending the president declare martial law. (AP PHOTO)

 

Kim also ordered the deployment of troops to the parliament, Vice-Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho said, adding he was unaware of the martial law order until Yoon declared it.

“I have fundamentally opposed the mobilisation of military forces under martial law and have expressed negative opinions about it,” he told a parliament hearing on Thursday, apologising and taking responsibility for failing to prevent it.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament on Thursday that Japan’s “security situation may be fundamentally changed” in light of the instability in Seoul and North Korea’s rising military assertiveness.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had not been made aware in advance of Yoon’s declaration, while his deputy, Kurt Campbell, said Yoon had badly misjudged it.

Yoon had been embraced by leaders in the West as a partner in the US-led effort to unify democracies against growing authoritarianism in China, Russia and elsewhere.

Troops tried to storm the parliament building but aides with fire extinguishers pushed them back. (AP PHOTO)
Troops tried to storm the parliament building but aides with fire extinguishers pushed them back. (AP PHOTO)

But he caused unease among South Koreans by branding his critics as “communist totalitarian and anti-state forces”.

In November, he denied wrongdoing in response to influence-peddling allegations against him and his wife and he has taken a hard line against labour unions.

The impeachment follows a night of chaos after Yoon declared martial law and armed troops attempted to force their way into the National Assembly building in Seoul, only to stand back when parliamentary aides sprayed them with fire extinguishers.

The troops’ commander said he had no intention of wielding firearms against the public, and the vice-defence minister said no live ammunition had been provided to the troops.

“The people and the aides who protected parliament protected us with their bodies. The people won, and it’s now time for us to protect the people,” the Democratic Party’s Kim said.

The opposition accuses the president of "an indelible, historic crime against the people". (AP PHOTO)
The opposition accuses the president of “an indelible, historic crime against the people”. (AP PHOTO)

“We need to immediately suspend the authority of President Yoon. He has committed an indelible, historic crime against the people, whose anxiety needs to be soothed so that they can return to their daily lives”.

If the impeachment bill passes, the Constitutional Court will decide whether to uphold the motion – a process that could take up to six months.

If Yoon were to be suspended from exercising power, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would fill in as leader, and if he resigned or was removed from office, a new election would be held within 60 days.

Yoon, a career prosecutor, won the tightest presidential election in South Korean history in 2022, riding a wave of discontent over economic policy, scandals and gender wars.

But his support ratings have been about 20 per cent for months and the opposition captured nearly two-thirds of seats in parliament in an April election.

Australian Associated Press

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