South Korea’s president replaced his defense minister yesterday as opposition parties moved to impeach both men over the stunning-but-brief imposition of martial law that brought armed troops into Seoul’s streets.
The Democratic Party and other small opposition parties submitted a joint motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol early yesterday over his martial law declaration on Tuesday. Martial law lasted about six hours, as the National Assembly quickly voted to overrule the president, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.
Democratic Party spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said it would push for a National Assembly vote on Yoon’s impeachment motion tomorrow, calling his martial law declaration an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.”
Photo: AP
Yesterday, Yoon’s office said he decided to replace South Korean Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun with Choi Byung-hyuk, a retired general who is South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Yoon’s office did not provide any further comments by him. He has not appeared in public since his televised announcement that martial law was lifted.
The opposition parties earlier submitted a motion to impeach Kim, alleging he recommended that Yoon impose martial law. Kim had offered to resign and apologized for causing disruption and concern to the public.
Kim said that “all troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me,” the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said.
If Yoon is impeached, he would be suspended until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential power. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would take over presidential responsibilities.
The impeachment motion against Yoon says he failed to meet the constitutional requirement that martial law should only be considered in wartime or a comparable severe crisis.
It alleges he attempted a “self-coup” by mobilizing the military and that suspending political party activities and deploying troops to seal the National Assembly amounted to rebellion.
Thousands of protesters marched in Seoul’s streets on Wednesday, carrying candles and signs calling for Yoon to step down, and another large anti-government gathering was expected yesterday evening.
Reflecting the country’s deeply polarized politics, hundreds of Yoon’s conservative supporters rallied in downtown Seoul yesterday afternoon, holding signs criticizing Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, seen as a potential successor to Yoon despite facing trials over various corruption allegations.
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