Martial law fiasco: South Korea’s President Yoon impeached

South Korean lawmakers yesterday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a "victory of the people".
The vote capped more than a week of intense political drama in the democratic South following Yoon's failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Seoul in rival rallies for and against Yoon yesterday.
In a televised address following the parliamentary vote, the impeached Yoon said he would "step aside" but did not apologise for his botched bid to impose martial law.
Out of 300 lawmakers, 204 voted to impeach the president on allegations of insurrection while 85 voted against the motion. Three abstained, with eight votes nullified.
With the impeachment, Yoon has been suspended from office while South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberates on the vote.
The court has 180 days to rule on Yoon's future and Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae vowed to hold "a swift and fair trial".
If the court backs his removal, Yoon will become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.
Two hundred votes were needed for the impeachment to pass, and opposition lawmakers needed to convince at least eight parliamentarians from Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP) to switch sides.
At the rally outside parliament supporting impeachment, volunteers gave out free hand warmers yesterday morning to fight the subzero temperatures, as well as coffee and food.
K-pop singer Yuri of the band Girls' Generation -- whose song "Into the New World" has become a protest anthem -- said she had prepaid for food for fans attending the demonstration.
"Stay safe and take care of your health!" she said on a superfan chat platform.
Yoon's future will now be determined by the court, which has previously blocked an impeachment.
In 2004, then-president Roh Moo-hyun was removed by parliament for alleged election law violations and incompetence, but the Constitutional Court later reinstated him.
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