(Bloomberg) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote on Saturday, as his ruling party refused to join an opposition bid to oust him after he shocked the nation by briefly declaring martial law.
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The impeachment vote failed to clear the 200-vote hurdle needed to suspend the president from duties, after the ruling party boycotted the vote. A lengthy standoff followed as the opposition waited for ruling party members to change their minds and vote. Despite some of them doing so it became clear the motion wouldn’t pass.
The opposition, which controls a majority in the legislative body, has said it will push quickly for another vote.
The attempt to oust the president came after Yoon, 63, shook markets and surprised world leaders by declaring martial law for the first time since South Korea became a democracy nearly four decades ago. He rescinded the order six hours later after lawmakers raced to the National Assembly and voted down the decree.
The opposition bloc needed only eight votes from the ruling People Power Party to impeach Yoon. But Yoon’s conservatives refused to vote in favor of the motion, a move that would’ve likely handed their political opponents a big win in an early election that would have followed if he was removed.
The impeachment bid looked set to fail much earlier Saturday evening when members of the People Power Party left the National Assembly without voting. But before casting their ballots, opposition members together called on each member of the People Power Party by name to return to vote.
“This incident will be written in our history, one that’s been built by the blood and sweat of our people,” parliamentary speaker Woo Won-shik said, as he urged ruling party lawmakers to return to the chamber and vote. “The head of a conservative group cannot speak alone for individuals’ consciences and values.”
In an unexpected twist, two of them did, adding to the one PPP member who already voted. That emboldened the opposition to leave proceedings at a standstill with several hours remaining before the 72-hour limit for the voting period was due to expire.
The votes by the three PPP members had prompted protesters outside the National Assembly to chant “five more to go.” As of 7 p.m., police estimated at least 100,000 people were gathered near the parliament to demand Yoon’s impeachment, compared with 18,000 Yoon supporters gathered near Gwanghwamun as of 6 p.m., according to Yonhap News.
But the chances of the impeachment failing strengthened when one of the ruling party members who cast a ballot said he voted against it.
The crowds started to thin as the likely result became clearer, the temperature dropped and food stalls started packing up having sold out of refreshments.
–With assistance from Shinhye Kang, Heejin Kim, Whanwoong Choi, Youkyung Lee, Sohee Kim, Sangim Han, Seyoon Kim, Sangmi Cha, Jaehyun Eom and Hooyeon Kim.
(Adds outcome of impeachment bid.)
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