SEOUL
\nSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol\u2019s future remained uncertain Sunday after surviving an impeachment vote over his brief imposition of martial law.
\nThe defence minister in charge when Yoon suspended civilian law late Tuesday was meanwhile reportedly arrested on Sunday and his official residence and office raided. A boycott by Yoon\u2019s party killed off the impeachment motion late Saturday even as huge crowds braved freezing temperatures outside parliament to demand his ouster.
\nBut the deeply unpopular president\u2019s survival may be short-lived, with Yoon\u2019s People Power Party (PPP) saying that it had \u201ceffectively obtained (Yoon\u2019s) promise to step down\u201d.
\n\u201dUntil the president steps down, the president will be effectively excluded from his duties,\u201d it said in a statement. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo were set to meet at 11:00 am (0200 GMT) to discuss plans for Yoon\u2019s \u201corderly retreat\u201d, the premier\u2019s office said.
\nA cabinet meeting will follow at 2:00 pm. The failure of the impeachment motion \u201cmeans a more protracted political crisis\u201d, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo, told media.
\n\u201cWe will have a politically dead president \u2014 basically unable to govern any longer \u2014 and hundreds of thousands coming to the streets every week until Yoon is removed,\u201d he said.
\nOn Saturday before the vote, Yoon, 63, reappeared for the first time in three days and apologised for the \u201canxiety and inconvenience\u201d. He said he would leave it to his party to decide his fate.
\nMassive crowds \u2014 police said there were 150,000 people, organisers one million \u2014 gathered outside parliament into the evening to pressure lawmakers to oust the president.
\nMany wore elaborate outfits, carrying home-made flags and waving colourful glow sticks and LED candles as K-pop tunes blasted from speakers. \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 protester Jo Ah-gyeong, 30, after the impeachment vote. \u201cI\u2019ll keep coming here until we get it,\u201d she told media.
\nThe opposition has already vowed to try to impeach Yoon again as soon as Wednesday, and many protesters vowed to continue demonstrations next weekend.
\n\u201cI will impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, who has become the worst risk for South Korea, at any cost,\u201d opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said.
\nRegardless of the political situation, police are investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection over the extraordinary events of Tuesday night.
\nEarly Sunday police arrested Kim Yong-hyun, who quit as defence minister on Wednesday and who was slapped with a travel ban, reports said. Kim\u2019s arrest came about six hours after he showed up for questioning at 1:30 am, Yonhap reported.
\nDeclaring martial law late Tuesday, Yoon said it would safeguard South Korea \u201cfrom the threats posed by North Korea\u2019s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people\u2019s freedom and happiness\u201d.
\nSecurity forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and almost 300 soldiers tried to lock down the building.
\nBut 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.
\nThe episode brought back painful memories of South Korea\u2019s autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out via television.
\n\u201cThis is a country we\u2019ve spent our entire lives building,\u201d Shin Jae-hyung, 66, who suffered arrest and torture in the 1970s and 80s as he battled successive military-led regimes, told media. The head of South Korean special forces said he had been ordered to \u201cdrag out\u201d lawmakers from parliament.
\nA purported arrest list included opposition leader Lee, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, and PPP leader Han. The ruling party\u2019s vote boycott \u201cmight delay the demise of Yoon\u2019s tenure but won\u2019t prevent it,\u201d Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University, told media.\u201dIts road will be messier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol\u2019s future remained uncertain Sunday after surviving an impeachment vote over his brief imposition of martial law. The defence minister in charge when Yoon suspended civilian law late Tuesday was meanwhile reportedly arrested on Sunday and his official residence and office raided. A boycott by Yoon\u2019s party killed off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-448188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n