South Korean legislators have launched a push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of declaring martial law in order to evade investigations into himself and his family.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law was swiftly overturned by lawmakers who tussled with troops before entering the National Assembly to vote it down early on Wednesday.
Opposition legislators later filed a motion to impeach the president. It says the president “gravely and extensively violated the constitution and the law” and accuses him of imposing martial law “with the unconstitutional and illegal intent to evade imminent investigations … into alleged illegal acts involving himself and his family”.
In an early Thursday morning session, lawmakers presented the impeachment motion to parliament.
“This is an unforgivable crime – one that cannot, should not, and will not be pardoned,” MP Kim Seung-won said.
Yoon’s governing People Power Party said it would oppose the motion but the party has been divided over the crisis. The opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, needs at least eight governing party lawmakers to back the bill in order for it to pass.
Under South Korea’s constitution, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in the 300-member National Assembly. The Democratic Party currently holds 170 seats in parliament. A vote could take place as soon as Friday.
The leader of the governing party on Wednesday slammed the incident and called for those involved to be held accountable.
“The president must directly and thoroughly explain this tragic situation,” Han Dong-hoon told reporters in a televised broadcast.
If the National Assembly does agree to impeach, Yoon will be temporarily stripped of his presidential authority while the constitutional court considers his fate.
Several senior officials have offered their resignations in the wake of the bungled events, including Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk, National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik, and Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Sung Tae-yoon.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo pledged to continue serving the people “until the last moment” and asked the cabinet to fulfil its responsibility together with the public officials of all ministries.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country’s largest labour organisations, had called for a strike until the president’s resignation.
Overreach
Yoon announced he would lift the martial law order hours after the initial declaration on Tuesday.
He had said he was forced to issue the order “to defend the free Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces” and accused the political opposition of “paralysing” his government and “undermining” the constitutional order.
Lawmakers then tussled with soldiers in order to enter parliament where they passed a legally binding motion forcing Yoon to reverse the order.
A Democratic Party leader, Park Chan-dae, warned soon after the martial law order ended that Yoon “cannot avoid the charge of treason”.
Greg Scarlatoiu, the president and CEO of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, told Al Jazeera that Article 77 of the South Korean Constitution stipulates that martial law may be declared when the country basically faces an existential threat.
“It seems that this is a fairly frivolous exercise in declaring martial law,” he said.
Scarlatoiu noted that there may be some basis to Yoon’s assertion of a threat to national security. The Democratic Party, which holds the majority in parliament, has made it impossible for the executive branch to operate.
Yet, the fact that 190 members of parliament rejected martial law was a sign the president had overreached.
