SEOUL: Thousands of protesters marched on President Yoon Suk Yeol's office in the South Korean capital on Wednesday evening, joining a push by the country's opposition to impeach the leader after his extraordinary but short-lived imposition of martial law. Yoon's shock bid to suspend civilian rule for the first time in over four decades -- before being overturned by lawmakers in a night of drama -- plunged South Korea into deep turmoil and alarmed its close allies. The future of Yoon, a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022, is now highly uncertain.
Live feed video showed thousands of protesters marching towards Yoon's office in central Seoul after staging a rally in Gwanghwamun Square. South Korea's opposition parties -- whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces to vote down the martial law -- filed a motion to impeach Yoon.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol violated the constitution by declaring martial law in a move aimed at evading criminal investigations, according to an impeachment motion. Yoon "gravely and extensively violated the Constitution and the law" the motion filed by opposition parties says, adding that the imposition of martial law was "motivated not by national security concerns but by an intent to evade investigations into criminal allegations involving President Yoon and his family".
The opposition holds a large majority in the 300-member parliament and needs only a handful of defections from the president's party to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion. The DP has also filed charges 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. The nation's largest umbrella labour union called an "indefinite general strike" until Yoon resigns. Even the leader of Yoon's own ruling party described the attempt as "tragic" while calling for those involved to be held accountable. Seoul's stock exchange closed down more than one per cent on Wednesday as markets were roiled by the turmoil.
In his late-night television announcement, Yoon declared martial law, citing the threat of North Korea and "anti-state forces". More than 280 troops, some flown in by helicopters, arrived at parliament to lock down the site. But 190 lawmakers defied rifle-carrying soldiers to force their way into parliament to vote against the move.
This left Yoon with no choice but to retract his decision and call off the military in another television address six hours later. Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it. Senior aides working for Yoon offered on Wednesday to resign en masse over the martial law declaration. Yoon's defence minister also offered to step down, saying he took "full responsibility for the confusion and concern" around the martial law declaration.
Yoon had said that his imposition of martial law was to "safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea's communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people's freedom and happiness". Yoon did not elaborate on the North's threats, but the South remains technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang. — AFP
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