S Korea opp moves to impeach president

Yoon under fire for botched martial law attempt

SEOUL:

South Korean lawmakers kickstarted a push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol in the early hours of Thursday, accusing him of declaring martial law to stop criminal investigations into himself and his family.

Yoon's declaration of South Korea's first martial law in more than four decades was swiftly overturned by lawmakers in a night of drama, but has plunged the country into political turmoil and alarmed its close allies.

The future of Yoon, a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022, now looks highly uncertain.

After jumping fences and tussling with security forces to get into parliament and vote down the martial law overnight, opposition lawmakers filed a motion to impeach Yoon.

The motion says Yoon "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.

Under South Korean law, the motion must be voted on between 24 and 72 hours after it is presented to a parliamentary session, according to Yonhap news agency.

Yoon's prospects look bleak -- the opposition holds a large majority in the 300-member legislature and needs only a handful of defections from the president's party to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion. The main opposition Democratic Party has also filed a complaint of "insurrection" against the president, some of his ministers and top military and police officials -- which can carry a penalty of life imprisonment or even death.

In a show of public anger with Yoon, thousands of protesters converged around his office in central Seoul late Wednesday after staging a rally in Gwanghwamun Square, demanding his resignation.

Seoul's stock exchange closed down more than one percent Wednesday as markets were roiled by the turmoil.

Even the leader of Yoon's own ruling party described the martial law attempt as "tragic" while calling for those involved to be held accountable