South Korea impeaches President Yoon after failed martial law attempt

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been impeached by the National Assembly over his brief attempt to impose martial law, which has sparked political turmoil in the country.

The vote was held on December 14, 2024, with 204 members of the Assembly voting in favour of impeachment and 85 against. Three members abstained, and eight votes were declared invalid.

The impeachment follows Yoon’s controversial martial law declaration, which was swiftly reversed. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside the Assembly building, celebrating the decision with applause and cheers. Yoon, however, remains defiant and vowed to continue his fight for the future of South Korea, stating he would "do my best for the nation until the end."

With the impeachment, Yoon has been suspended from office while the Constitutional Court deliberates his fate. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as interim president until a final ruling is made.

If the court upholds the impeachment, Yoon will be the second South Korean president to be removed from office after Park Geun-hye in 2017.

The political crisis continues, with investigations into Yoon’s inner circle intensifying and his approval ratings plummeting to 11%. The fallout from the martial law episode has added to the pressure on the embattled president.

South Korea's Yoon lifts martial law

Earlier this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that he would move to lift a martial law declaration he had imposed just hours before, backing down in a standoff with parliament which rejected his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media.

Yoon declared martial law on the night of December 3rd to thwart "anti-state forces" among his opponents. But outraged lawmakers rejected the decree, in South Korea's biggest political crisis in decades. Yoon said a cabinet meeting would be held as soon as possible.

Protesters outside parliament shouted and clapped after Yoon backed down. “We won!” they chanted. One demonstrator banged on a drum.

Yoon's surprise declaration of martial law, which he cast as aimed at his political foes, was unanimously voted down by 190 lawmakers in the parliament. Under South Korean law, the president must immediately lift martial law if parliament demands it by a majority vote. His own party urged him to lift the decree.

The crisis in a country that has been a democracy since the 1980s, and is a US ally and major Asian economy, caused international alarm.

After Yoon's announcement of martial law in a late-night television address, the military said activities by parliament and political parties would be banned, and that media and publishers would be under the control of the martial law command.

Yoon did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents. It is the first time since 1980 that martial law has been declared in South Korea.