Massive crowd celebrates impeachment of South Korean president
On Saturday (14 Dec), the South Korean Parliament announced that Yoon Suk Yeol had been impeached over his martial law declaration earlier this month.
What followed were cheers and scenes of celebration from crowds that had gathered to hear the decision.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
According to the BBC, 204 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion. The impeachment vote will immediately suspend President Yoon from his duties.
In his stead, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will become the acting president.
The Constitutional Court will now have 180 days to deliberate on whether to remove Yoon from office.
Crowd cheers and celebrates with songs
Many in South Korea gathered on the streets to await the outcome of the impeachment vote on 14 Dec.
This was the second attempt to impeach Yoon after a failed first vote last week when lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party left parliament before voting began.
According to DW, over 200,000 people took to the streets of Seoul to witness the event.
Cheers erupted the moment Parliament speaker Woo Won Shik announced the impeachment vote had passed.
탄핵 가결!! pic.twitter.com/TuFwc0IvOD
— 시엘 (@cl091820) December 14, 2024
According to the BBC, protesters began singing songs and even lighting fireworks.
Scenes of public response to the impeachment vote showed the crowd singing “Into the New World”, the debut hit by K-pop legends Girls’ Generation.
국회의장님이 윤석열 탄핵 가결 발표하시고
이야기하시는데
여의도에 모인 국민들 다같이 다만세 부르는거 그냥 울컥함 헌재까지 가보자 윤석열 탄핵 pic.twitter.com/rSTt6enjTb— 무영 (@full_moonx2) December 14, 2024
The protestors came out despite plummeting temperatures in South Korea.
“I’m so happy that the bill passed. It’s a relief that we won’t need to come out to protest in the cold anymore,” said one protestor to the press.
Meanwhile, another citizen had hope that “Korean politics will improve after today”.
Constitutional Court to deliberate within 180 days
According to the BBC, the Constitutional Court’s six justices will have 180 days to deliberate the case.
If the impeachment is upheld, a presidential election will be called within 60 days of the decision.
Despite an overwhelming 204-85 vote in Parliament and public support, there are still questions about how the court may rule.
According to Reuters, a rule requires at least six justices on the Constitutional Court to agree to uphold the impeachment.
However, because there are currently only six sitting justices — with three vacant seats — the justices must unanimously agree to uphold the impeachment.
Parliament can fill these vacant seats, but politicians have yet to agree on the appropriate candidates.
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Featured image adapted from Yonhap News Agency.
