South Korea’s largest opposition party filed a second motion to oust President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday. Parliament will vote on Yoon’s ouster at 5pm (0800 GMT) on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported.
Their first motion a week ago failed after members of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the proceedings, meaning there was no necessary quorum.
But there is now a greater chance that the National Assembly will get rid of the unpopular Yoon. There are 300 parliamentarians. The opposition has 192 seats but needs eight more votes because two-thirds or 200 lawmakers must vote to impeach Yoon to remove him from office.
Seven MPs from the ruling PPP party have already publicly announced their intention to support the motion. PPP chairman Han Dong Hoon also publicly expressed his support for the proposal on Thursday, but he has changed his mind before.
The unrest stems from Yoon’s unexpected declaration of martial law on December 3, which he withdrew about six hours later after mass protests.
On Thursday, Yoon defended his decision during an impromptu televised speech, saying he took the step to protect the nation from “anti-state forces” – meaning his political opponents. These people, Yoon claimed, would paralyze the government and disrupt the country’s constitutional order.
A 24-hour Yonhapnews TV broadcast at Yongsan Train Station shows South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering a special speech at the presidential office in Seoul. Yeol said on December 7 that he is “sincerely sorry” for causing public concern over the declaration of martial law earlier this week, while vowing not to make such an attempt again. Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
