The South Korean president has been impeached.

The Speaker of the South Korean National Assembly has announced that 204 lawmakers voted in favor of impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol over the declaration of martial law, according to Reuters.

Twenty-one votes are needed for the impeachment motion to pass. Prior to the vote, Reuters reported today, citing South Korean media, that the PPP had decided to maintain its official stance of voting against the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, but would not boycott the impeachment vote.

People participate in a protest calling for the ousting of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on a street near the National Assembly headquarters in Seoul on December 14.

The first attempt to impeach Mr. Yoon on December 7th failed after almost all lawmakers from Mr. Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote.

According to Yonhap, the new petition has been revised compared to the first one, removing some charges against Yoon but adding others, including the accusation that the president ordered the military and police to arrest lawmakers while martial law was in effect.

After the impeachment motion is passed, Yoon will be suspended from office and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will assume the role of interim president, according to AFP. The South Korean Constitutional Court will then have 180 days to rule on Yoon's future.

All 300 South Korean lawmakers participated in the vote. Of those, 204 voted to impeach the president on charges of rebellion, while 85 voted against, 3 abstained, and 8 votes were invalidated, according to AFP.

The South Korean opposition said the impeachment motion against Yoon was passed as "a victory for the people."

A Seoul police officer previously told AFP that at least 200,000 people had gathered outside the parliament building to support the impeachment of the president.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Seoul near Gwanghwamun Square, police estimated that 30,000 people had gathered to support Mr. Yoon.

Yoon shocked the entire nation of South Korea late on December 3rd when he granted the military full emergency powers to eliminate what he called "anti-state forces."

He later apologized to the nation but also defended his decision and rejected calls for his resignation before the vote.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/quoc-hoi-han-quoc-thong-qua-kien-nghi-luan-toi-tong-thong-yoon-suk-yeol-185241214151352662.htm