Motion to impeach Yoon reported to Nat’l Assembly plenary session

A motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration was reported to the National Assembly’s plenary session Thursday, a parliamentary procedure that set the stage for a full-house vote this week.

Tabled by 190 opposition party lawmakers and one independent, the motion was reported to the session at around 12:48 a.m. It came less than a day after Yoon rescinded his martial law order following the legislature’s passage of a resolution to overturn the order.

By law, a motion must be put to a vote 24 hours after the reporting procedure, and within 72 hours of the reporting. A vote on the motion can proceed as early as 12:49 a.m. on Friday.

In proposing the motion to parliament, opposition lawmakers alleged that Yoon’s martial law declaration constituted violations of the Constitution and other laws concerning principles of popular sovereignty and of the separation of powers.

They also claimed that the martial law decree infringed upon freedom of expression as it put all media and publishing outlets under the control of the martial law command and banned strikes and protests.

The opposition camp plans to hold the vote on the motion as quickly as possible.

To pass the motion, a majority of all 300 lawmakers must table it to the Assembly with two thirds of them required for its final endorsement.

The number of opposition lawmakers, including National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik and independent Rep. Kim Jong-min, stands at 192.

To pass the motion, support from eight lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party is needed. But the ruling party has made a decision against the impeachment motion.

Should the motion pass, Yoon’s presidential job would be suspended immediately.

The surprise declaration of martial law on Tuesday night came after the opposition Democratic Party railroaded a downsized budget bill in the parliamentary budget committee, and submitted impeachment motions against a state auditor and the chief prosecutor.