SEOUL: A motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was on the brink of failing Saturday, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted the ballot despite huge protests outside parliament.<\/p>\n
Yoon stunned the nation and the international community Tuesday night by suspending civilian rule and sending troops to parliament, but was forced into a U-turn after lawmakers nixed his decree.<\/p>\n
Opposition parties, which hold 192 seats in the 300-seat parliament filed the impeachment motion, which needed 200 votes to pass and went to the vote on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
But almost all 108 members of Yoon\u2019s People Power Party (PPP) filed out of the chamber before the vote, prompting critical shouts from the opposition \u2014 with one yelling \u201cwhere are you going?\u201d and others calling them \u201caccomplices to insurrection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only three PPP members cast ballots, but speaker Woo Won-shik stopped short of calling the result, appealing to PPP lawmakers to return \u201cto protect the Republic of Korea and its democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The probable outcome is likely to enrage crowds \u2014 numbering 150,000 according to police, one million according to organizers \u2014 demonstrating outside parliament for Yoon\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators booed while some sighed or even wept in frustration as the ruling party lawmakers walked out of the chamber. Some protesters went home.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though we didn\u2019t get the outcome we wanted today, I am neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it eventually,\u201d said Jo Ah-gyeong, 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll keep coming here until we get it. I\u2019d like to tell ruling MPs this: Please do your freaking job,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Across town, thousands of pro-Yoon protesters gathered for a rally in Seoul\u2019s main square.<\/p>\n
Before the vote, Yoon, 63, apologized for the turmoil but said he would leave it to his party to decide his fate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI caused anxiety and inconvenience to the public. I sincerely apologize,\u201d he said in the televised address, his first public appearance in three days.<\/p>\n
He said he would \u201centrust the party with measures to stabilize the political situation, including my term in office.\u201d<\/p>\n
The backing of PPP lawmakers came despite party head Han Dong-hoon \u2014 who was allegedly on an arrest list on Tuesday night \u2014 saying Yoon must go.<\/p>\n
If the motion does still pass, Yoon would be suspended from duties pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said Yoon\u2019s comments on Saturday were \u201cvery disappointing\u201d given widespread anger among South Koreans.<\/p>\n
His speech \u201conly exacerbates the sense of betrayal and anger among the citizens,\u201d Lee said, adding the only solution was \u201cthe immediate resignation of the president or an early departure through impeachment.\u201d<\/p>\n
An opinion poll released Friday put backing for the president at a record low of 13 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public will not forgive him,\u201d 63-year-old retiree Lee Wan-pyo said at Seoul\u2019s main train station before the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want him to step down,\u201d said Han Jeong-hwa, a 70-year-old housewife.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the vote, police have begun investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection.<\/p>\n
In his address declaring martial law late Tuesday, Yoon claimed it would \u201celiminate anti-state elements plundering people\u2019s freedom and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Security forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and almost 300 soldiers tried to lock down the building.<\/p>\n
But as parliamentary staffers blocked the soldiers with sofas and fire extinguishers, enough MPs got inside \u2014 many climbed walls to enter \u2014 and voted down Yoon\u2019s move.<\/p>\n
Soldiers had been ordered to detain key politicians, lawmakers from both parties have said, with the special forces chief later describing being given orders to \u201cdrag out\u201d MPs from parliament.<\/p>\n
Experts and lawmakers have speculated that the elite special forces soldiers may have slow-walked following orders, after discovering themselves to be involved in a political rather than national security incident.<\/p>\n
The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea\u2019s autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out via television.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Friday that he \u201cexpects the… democratic process to prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL: A motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was on the brink of failing Saturday, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted the ballot despite huge protests outside parliament. Yoon stunned the nation and the international community Tuesday night by suspending civilian rule and sending troops to parliament, but was forced into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-447935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n