South Korea’s Yoon Survives Impeachment After Martial Law Fiasco

(Bloomberg) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived impeachment on Saturday as his ruling party refused to join an opposition bid to oust him after he shocked the nation and its allies by briefly declaring martial law.

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The impeachment vote failed to gain the 200-vote hurdle needed to suspend the president from duties, after the ruling party boycotted the vote. A lengthy standoff followed as the opposition waited for ruling party members to change their minds and vote. Despite some of them doing so it eventually became clear the motion wouldn’t pass.

The opposition, which controls a majority in the legislative body, has said it will push quickly for another vote.

The attempt to oust the president came after Yoon, 63, shook markets and surprised world leaders by declaring martial law for the first time since South Korea became a democracy nearly four decades ago. He rescinded the order six hours later after lawmakers raced to the National Assembly and voted down the decree.

While the outcome leaves Yoon in office for now, the ruling People Power Party will need to quickly find ways to shore up the administration and stabilize the situation to avoid the kind of escalating public protests seen in South Korea in the past.

“We will swiftly come up with measures to sort out the chaotic state of affairs to resolve people’s anxiety,” said Shin Dong-uk, a spokesperson for the ruling PPP. He said the party will push for a more “orderly and responsible” way to protect free democracy and the rule of law than impeachment.

Minutes after the failure of the vote, opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung accused the ruling party of betraying the public. He apologized for failing to pass the motion, as other opposition lawmakers stood by him holding banners that read, “Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol.”

“We will ultimately impeach Yoon Suk Yeol,” Lee said. “We will return the state back to normal for you as a Christmas gift.”

The ruling party’s decision to boycott the vote came hours after Yoon apologized for plunging the country into a political crisis, saying he would leave it up to the ruling party to decide his fate.

Immediately after Yoon’s speech, ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon held a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during which they were expected to have sketched out how the government would operate following the vote.

It is not immediately clear what role the prime minister will play as the political chaos appeared set to continue for a while. Under the country’s constitution, the prime minister’s role is to assist the president and direct the ministries following orders from the president.

The opposition bloc needed only eight votes from the ruling PPP to impeach Yoon. But Yoon’s conservatives refused to vote in favor of the motion, a move that would’ve likely handed their political opponents a big win in an early election that would have followed if he was removed.

The impeachment bid looked set to fail much earlier Saturday evening when members of the PPP left the National Assembly without voting. But before casting their ballots, opposition members together called on each member of the People Power Party by name to return to vote.

“This incident will be written in our history, one that’s been built by the blood and sweat of our people,” parliamentary speaker Woo Won-shik said, as he urged ruling party lawmakers to return to the chamber and vote. “The head of a conservative group cannot speak alone for individuals’ consciences and values.”

In an unexpected twist, two of them did, adding to the one PPP member who already voted. That emboldened the opposition to leave proceedings at a standstill with several hours remaining before the 72-hour limit for the voting period was due to expire.

The votes by the three PPP members had prompted protesters outside the National Assembly to chant “five more to go.” As of 7 p.m., police estimated at least 100,000 people were gathered near the parliament to demand Yoon’s impeachment, compared with 18,000 Yoon supporters gathered near Gwanghwamun as of 6 p.m., according to Yonhap News.

But the chances of the impeachment failing strengthened when one of the ruling party members who cast a ballot said he voted against it.

The crowds started to thin as the likely result became clearer, the temperature dropped and food stalls started packing up having sold out of refreshments.

“I had planned to take rest this weekend but I felt so scared after martial law,” said Park Hye-rim, a 33-year-old office worker from northern Seoul. “Even if impeachment is voted down, I will come back to rally again and again. I will not give up.”

–With assistance from Jaehyun Eom, Seyoon Kim, Hooyeon Kim, Shinhye Kang, Heejin Kim, Whanwoong Choi, Youkyung Lee, Sohee Kim, Sangim Han and Sangmi Cha.

(Adds comments from lawmakers.)

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