Daily Discussion - December 4, 2024

South Korea in Chaos: President Faces Treason Claims, Mass Protests

South Korea’s opposition parties moved swiftly on Wednesday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, hours after his failed attempt to impose martial law triggered the country’s worst constitutional crisis in decades.About 190 lawmakers from six opposition parties submitted an impeachment motion, intending to discuss the bill in parliament on Thursday before a vote on Friday or Saturday.As pressure built on members of Yoon’s own party to support the impeachment bid, thousands of protesters against the president gathered in central Seoul.“[Yoon] is someone who can press the button to start war…   or declare martial law again. He is the one who can put South Korea in biggest jeopardy now,” said Cho Kuk, leader of one of the opposition parties, who urged the country’s legal authorities to arrest Yoon immediately for investigation over treason.“We should immediately suspend his presidential duties by impeaching him.”The move to try to oust Yoon heralds further political turmoil in the country of 52mn, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally.It came after the conservative president declared martial law in an unscheduled national broadcast late on Tuesday, saying he needed to purge South Korea of “anti-state forces” and “normalise the country”.Yoon backed down hours later, lifting the order after it was unanimously rejected by the opposition-controlled legislature. Troops sent to surround the parliament building were withdrawn.Defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, a high school contemporary of Yoon’s who had previously headed presidential security, offered to resign on Wednesday evening. Yoon’s own conservative People Power party had previously called for the president to sack Kim, whom it believes suggested declaring martial law.Party leaders are discussing if Yoon should leave the party, according to state-run Yonhap News, while the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, has called for an indefinite strike until the president stepped down.South Korea’s main opposition, the Democratic party, labelled the declaration of martial law “a clear act of treason” and “a perfect reason” to impeach the president.“[Yoon] is likely to make another attempt as his first attempt at a martial decree failed,” Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, told a rally in the parliamentary compound. “But we face a bigger risk where he can provoke North Korea and run the risk of an armed clash with North Korea by destabilising the divided border.”