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The South Korean Parliament failed to approve the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who declared martial law in the country, due to the absence of ruling party lawmakers, Yonhap reports.
Members of the ruling “People Power Party” abstained from voting, except for three deputies, leaving the plenary hall before the vote. As a result, only 195 of the 300 registered lawmakers participated, falling short of the 200 votes required to pass the motion.
The opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority, had warned before the vote that if the proposal failed, it would reintroduce it during an extraordinary National Assembly session on December 11.
Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law on the night of December 3-4 to “protect constitutional order” — the first such move since the 1980s. This followed the Democratic Party’s rejection of the government budget proposal and its initiation of impeachment proceedings against the state auditor and chief prosecutor.
Within an hour, Parliament passed a resolution calling for martial law to be lifted. All 190 lawmakers present voted in favor. Although South Korea’s Parliament has 300 members, only 190 could access the building due to a military blockade surrounding the National Assembly.
Subsequently, the South Korean government supported a “plan to repeal martial law” demanded by Parliament. The Prime Minister’s Office announced that the proposal was approved at 4:30 a.m. local time, ending martial law after about six hours.
As lawmakers voted on the resolution, crowds outside sang the national anthem and cheered. Around 4,000 people gathered near the Parliament building, waving flags of Korean trade unions and expressing support for democracy.
