South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol impeached over martial law bid

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has been suspended following a vote to impeach him as thousands take to the streets to celebrate and he vows to fight on.

South Korea has impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a “victory of the people”.

The vote by politicians capped over a week of intense political drama in the democratic South following Mr Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Seoul in rival rallies for and against Mr Yoon on Saturday.

In a televised address following the parliamentary vote, the impeached Mr Yoon said he would “step aside” but did not apologise for his botched bid to impose martial law.

Out of 300 politicians, 204 voted to impeach the president on allegations of insurrection while 85 voted against.

Three abstained, with eight votes nullified.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would "step aside" after parliament voted to remove him from office, urging an end to "politics of excess and confrontation". Picture: AFP.

With the impeachment, Mr Yoon has been suspended from office while South Korea’s Constitutional Court deliberates on the vote.

The court has 180 days to rule on Mr Yoon’s future.

Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae vowed to hold “a swift and fair trial”. If the court backs his removal, Mr Yoon will become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo - now the nation’s interim leader - told reporters he would “devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance”.

Two hundred votes were needed for the impeachment to pass, and opposition lawmakers needed to convince at least eight parliamentarians from Mr Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) to switch sides.

“Today’s impeachment is the great victory of the people,” opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said following the vote.

PPP lawmaker Kim Sang-wook told broadcaster JTBC that Mr Yoon had “completely betrayed the values of conservatism”.

“That is why we, as ruling party lawmakers, have decided to remove him ourselves,” he said.

Protesters calling for the ouster of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol react after the result of the second martial law impeachment vote outside the National Assembly in Seoul on December 14, 2024. Picture: AFP.

‘We, the people’

A Seoul police official told AFP at least 200,000 people had massed outside parliament in support of removing the president.

Choi Jung-ha, 52, danced in the street after the vote.

“Isn’t it amazing that we, the people, have pulled this off together?” she told AFP.

“I am 100 percent certain the Constitutional Court will side with the impeachment.” On the other side of Seoul near Gwanghwamun square, police estimated 30,000 had rallied in support of Mr Yoon, blasting patriotic songs and waving South Korean and American flags.

“Mr Yoon had no choice but to declare martial law. I approve of every decision he has made as president,” supporter Choi Hee-sun, 62, told AFP before the vote.

The Democratic Party said ahead of the vote that impeachment was the “only way” to “safeguard the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy and South Korea’s future”.

Protesters celebrate as the parliament votes to impeach South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol over his decision to impose a martial law, in front of National Assembly on December 14, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. Picture: Getty Images.

“We can no longer endure Yoon’s madness,” spokeswoman Hwang Jung-a said. At the rally outside parliament supporting impeachment, volunteers gave out free hand warmers on Saturday morning to fight the subzero temperatures, as well as coffee and food.

K-pop singer Yuri of the band Girls’ Generation - whose song “Into the New World” has become a protest anthem - said she had prepaid for food for fans attending the demonstration.

“Stay safe and take care of your health!” she said on a superfan chat platform. One protester said she had rented a bus so parents at the rally would have a place to change diapers and feed their babies.

South Korean lawmakers on December 14 voted to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office for his failed attempt to impose martial law last week. Picture: AFP.

Another said they had initially planned to spend their Saturday hiking. “But I came here instead to support my fellow citizens,” Kim Deuk-yun, 58, told AFP.

Mr Yoon’s future will now be determined by the court, which has previously blocked an impeachment.

In 2004, then-president Roh Moo-hyun was removed by parliament for alleged election law violations and incompetence, but the Constitutional Court later reinstated him.

The court currently only has six judges, meaning their decision must be unanimous.

Following Saturday’s vote, parliament speaker Woo Won-shik said the National Assembly would seek to nominate three more judges to the court as soon as possible.

“The future of South Korea lies within its people,” he said.

Mr Yoon remained unapologetic and defiant as the fallout from his disastrous martial law declaration deepened and an investigation into his inner circle has widened.

His approval rating - never very high - plummeted to 11 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday.

The same poll showed that 75 percent supported his impeachment.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken called the impeachment a sign of South Korea’s “democratic resilience,” saying Washington was “ready to work with President Han as he assumes office.” “We strongly support the Korean people. We strongly support the ironclad alliance” between the United States and South Korea, Mr Blinken told reporters on a trip to Jordan.

An EU spokesperson meanwhile called for a “swift and orderly resolution” to South Korea’s political crisis in line with its constitution.