South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s fate was hanging in the balance Saturday, ahead of a second impeachment vote over his failed bid to declare martial law — a measure that, if passed, could have wide-ranging implications for the Asian democracy and bilateral as well as trilateral ties with Japan and the U.S.
Lawmakers from the country’s National Assembly are set to vote around 4 p.m. over whether to remove the president for committing “insurrectionary acts” and “abandoning the duty to protect the constitution.” The impeachment vote will be the second attempt after an earlier one failed a week ago after the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote.
The measure needs 200 votes to pass, meaning the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and its partners must convince eight lawmakers from Yoon’s PPP to defy their colleague. Seven PPP lawmakers have already pledged to back the president’s impeachment.
