South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to “never give up” after the opposition-led parliament succeeded in a second attempt to impeach him over his brief declaration of martial law earlier this month, putting at least a temporary pause on the political chaos enveloping Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
All 300 lawmakers from the country’s National Assembly participated in Saturday’s vote, with 204 supporting the removal of the president for committing “insurrectionary acts” and “abandoning the duty to protect the constitution.” A total of 85 voted against the motion, while three abstained and eight ballots were deemed invalid.
The impeachment vote was the second attempt after a bid that failed a week ago following a boycott of the vote by Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP). The party decided shortly before the proceedings that it would take part in the vote, but without changing its stance of opposing impeachment.