Second martial law impeachment vote for South Korean president on knife edge

by Hieun SHIN and Hailey JO

South Korea's opposition leader on Friday urged ruling party lawmakers to side with the "people" and impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, a day before a second parliamentary vote that appears on a knife edge.

A week after a first attempt to remove Yoon for the martial law debacle foundered, the country's National Assembly will vote Saturday around 4:00 pm (0700 GMT) on whether to impeach the president for "insurrectionary acts undermining the constitutional order".

Two hundred votes are needed for the measure to pass, meaning opposition lawmakers must convince eight ruling People Power Party (PPP) colleagues to defect.

As of noon Friday, seven ruling party lawmakers had pledged to support impeachment -- leaving the vote up in the air.

On Friday, the leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, implored them to support the president's removal from office.

AFP Police stand guard while blocking a road as demonstrators in Seoul call for the ouster of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol

"What the lawmakers must protect is neither Yoon nor the ruling People Power Party but the lives of the people wailing out in the freezing streets," Lee said.

"Please join in supporting the impeachment vote tomorrow. History will remember and record your choice."

Two ruling party lawmakers supported the motion last week.

Lawmaker Kim Min-seok said Friday he was "99 percent" sure the impeachment will pass.

- Ball with the court -

Should it be approved, Yoon will be suspended from office while South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberates.

AFP Kim Sung-tae (C), a 52-year-old worker at a company that makes car parts, poses with a placard reading "Insurrectionist Yoon Suk Yeol. Impeach! Arrest!"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will step in as the interim president during that time.

The court will then have 180 days to rule on Yoon's future. If it backs his removal, Yoon will become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.

There is also precedent for the court to block 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.

The court also currently only has six judges, meaning their decision would need to be unanimous.

And should the vote fail, Yoon can still face "legal responsibility" for the martial law bid, Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at the Korea University Institute of Law, told AFP.

"This is clearly an act of insurrection," she said.

"Even if the impeachment motion does not pass, the President's legal responsibilities under the Criminal Code... cannot be avoided."

- 'So angry' -

Yoon has remained unapologetic and defiant as the fallout from his disastrous martial law declaration has deepened and an investigation into his inner circle has widened.

In a televised address, he vowed on Thursday to fight "until the very last minute" and doubled down on unsubstantiated claims the opposition was in league with the country's communist foes.

Thousands have taken to the streets of Seoul since Yoon's declaration to demand his resignation and jailing.

AFP Yoon's approval rating -- never very high -- has plummeted to just 11 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll

Yoon's approval rating -- never high -- has plummeted to 11 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday.

The same poll showed 75 percent now support his impeachment.

Protesters run the gamut of South Korean society -- from K-pop fans waving glowsticks to retirees and blue-collar workers.

"Impeachment is a must and we must fight relentlessly," Kim Sung-tae, a 52-year-old worker at a company that makes car parts, told AFP.

"We're fighting for the restoration of democracy."

Teacher Kim Hwan-ii agreed.

"I'm so angry that we all have to pay the price for electing this president."

© Agence France-Presse