The opposition has tabled a motion to impeach the head of state to be voted in the coming days. Interior and Defence ministers, who allegedly played a role in imposing martial law, are also accused. Civil society groups take to the streets calling for the president’s resignation.

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – South Korea’s opposition has started procedures to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol who declared martial law yesterday then revoked it. Thousands of people are back in the streets of the capital Seoul today to protest while the country’s  Catholic bishops issued a statement criticising the president’s decision to invoke martial law.

During the broadcast live late yesterday evening (unbeknownst to several of the president's aides), Yoon accused the opposition, led by the Democratic Party, of obstructing the work of the government.

Over the previous days, South Korea’s National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition since April,  amended the budget law with a series of cuts and tabled a motion to impeach the head of the state audit agency and some prosecutors.

In his address, Yoon slammed “anti-state elements” and “pro-North Korean forces”, expressions he used in the past referring to the opposition, unrelated to any military threat from North Korea.

For many South Koreans, the proclamation of martial law was a shock, reminding them of the dictatorship, which ended in 1988.

An hour after the announcement, the army chief of staff took command of a committee tasked with overseeing all administrative and judicial functions.

South Korean martial law imposes, among other things, that all political activities be suspended, including those by the National Assembly.

At this point, 190 opposition Members of the National Assembly (out of a total of 300) met in the chamber to vote unanimously to lift the martial law.

While thousands of protesters gathered outside the Parliament building, some soldiers broke in, but met resistance from the staff.

At 4.20 am Yoon lifted martial law and now faces impeachment. This morning, the Democratic Party and five other parties introduced a bill to oust him.

The opposition argues that the proclamation of martial law posed a threat to constitutional order because it was not invoked in a situation that could have justified it (the maintenance of law and order in times of war or national emergency, for example).

A spokesperson for the Democratic Party, Jo Seoung-lae, said that lawmakers will seek the impeachment of both the Minister of Defence (who allegedly suggested imposing martial law) and the Minister of the Interior (in charge of the police force).

An impeachment motion, which requires a two-thirds majority, will be voted on in the coming days; however, no lawmaker from Yoon’s People's Power Party (PPP) has signed it. With 192 votes, the opposition falls short of the 200 needed to approve the president’s impeachment.

Meanwhile, several PPP lawmakers close to Yoon began to distance themselves from the imposition of martial law. In fact, Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval ratings had been sliding for months, dropping below 25 per cent.

Since he took office, various advocacy groups have been reporting a deterioration in the protection of rights. For months, junior doctors have been protesting the government's approach to solving personnel shortages, which in their view will not solve the problem.

Yoon was also criticised for his growing aggressiveness towards North Korea and his strongly pro-US and pro-Japan stance, which is why today some pro-Yoon protesters waved US flags in central Seoul along with that of South Korea.

Unions are also among the groups demonstrating, pledging to hold a general strike until Yoon is removed from power.

In late November, more than 1,400 priests issued a call for the president to resign, describing him as a "man of lies" and “violence”, a “divisive man”, “unable to understand his role and respect the power that the people have given him.”

Today the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea waded again into the matter, taking a stance in favour of democracy.

“The Catholic Church in Korea actively supports and stands in solidarity with the defence of our democracy, which has been achieved through the blood and sweat of many people over the years,” reads a press release by the Bishops’ Conference.

In the statement, signed by Bishop Lee Yong-hoon, “Many people are asking the President whether it was a reasonable decision to declare martial law in the Republic of Korea in 2024, which was only declared during the military regime, and whether it was the right decision for him as the supreme commander to declare martial law in the middle of the night in the absence of an invasion by an external enemy or a visible threat of war.”

For the bishops, “the president should personally appear before the people, explain the series of events, sincerely apologise to the people, and take responsibility for them.”

• south korea
• yoon suk yeol
• martial law
• impeachment
• street protests
• catholic bishops
• criticism
• north korea