The Daily Populous Saturday December 14th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by koreajoongangdaily.joins.com and submitted by ProfessionalOwn5490

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

He transitioned into politics less than a year before the last presidential election, which he narrowly won by a margin of less than 1 percent.

However, Lee’s recent conviction on charges of violating the election law as well as his other ongoing criminal investigations on charges of subornation, corruption and bribery stemming from his time as Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor are likely to receive greater scrutiny should he mount another presidential run.

The National Assembly voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, suspending him from authority following a botched martial law declaration on Dec. 3 that has thrown Korea into political turmoil.The impeachment motion, passed during a plenary session that started around 4 p.m., was approved through a secret ballot.Of the National Assembly’s 300 lawmakers, all 300 participated in the vote, with 204 supporting the motion, 85 opposing it, three abstaining and eight votes declared invalid.While at least eight lawmakers from the president's conservative People Power Party (PPP), which formally opposed the impeachment, needed to defect and vote in favor for the motion to pass, 12 appear to have broken ranks and joined the 192 lawmakers from the liberal bloc led by the Democratic Party (DP). The defections were enough to push the impeachment motion past the required 200-vote threshold.Saturday’s motion marks the third impeachment of a sitting president by the National Assembly in Korean history, following the late President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016.The impeachment motion cited Yoon’s violation of the Constitution and laws governing martial law conduct of public officials, as well as the criminal charge of treason for his actions surrounding Dec. 3’s short-lived martial law declaration.With Yoon's authority now suspended, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will step in as acting president in accordance with the Constitution.The impeachment motion is due to be reviewed by the Constitutional Court, where six out of nine justices need to give their approval for the president’s removal to be finalized. If his impeachment is upheld, Yoon will become the second Korean president to be removed from office during their term, following Park's ouster in 2017. Roh, in contrast, returned to office after the court rejected the motion.Yoon’s impeachment comes just 949 days after he assumed office as Korea’s 20th president on May 10, 2022.His suspension from office marks a stunning reversal of fortunes for a former prosecutor who made his name spearheading the investigation into former President Park and later defying his predecessor Moon Jae-in’s justice ministers, who sought to rein in the powerful state prosecution service he once headed.Yoon’s impeachment is widely seen by observers to work to the advantage of Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the DP, the largest party in the National Assembly with 170 seats. Lee is considered the liberal camp’s frontrunner for the next presidential election.According to the Constitution, a presidential vacancy due to impeachment or resignation necessitates a by-election within 60 days. The Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to decide on the motion, but analysts predict a conclusion by March or April next year, based on precedent and the urgency of the situation. In 2017, following Park's impeachment, the Constitutional Court upheld the motion on March 10 and a presidential election was held on May 9.After the motion to impeach Yoon passed in the National Assembly, the DP said that the result was a "victory for democracy and the people," adding that the suspension of authority for Yoon was the "first step" and that the party will "focus all our efforts on the formation of a special prosecution to probe into the martial law declaration of Dec. 3. "The DP also urged the Constitutional Court to "proceed with the impeachment trial as quickly as possible."Following Yoon's suspension from presidential authority, Prime Minister Han will hold an emergency Cabinet meeting at the Seoul Government Complex Saturday evening, where Han plans to review key pending issues of each ministry and urge them to remain steadfast in running the government despite the difficult political situation.Han is set to deliver a public address later on Saturday.BY SEO JI-EUN,LIM JEONG-WON [ [email protected]

Live_Media_1844 on December 14th, 2024 at 08:09 UTC »

FYI, this means legislation has passed the parliament.

Presidency is halted immediately.

Now it is upto Constitutional Court(Ccourt)'s decision. However, currently there is only 6 active judges, and rest (3) are in process of appointment.

CC has 180 days to make the judgment.

hippochipo on December 14th, 2024 at 08:05 UTC »

By BBC News:

> Parliament has voted to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, with 204 lawmakers voting in favour of the motion.

> It means that Yoon will immediately be suspended from office, and the prime minister will become the acting president.

> The entire impeachment process itself could take weeks, as a trial still has to be held before the Constitutional Court. If six of the nine-member council vote to sustain the impeachment, only then will the president will be removed from office.

> In this scenario, an election for the next president will be called within 60 days of the ruling.

asdf6347 on December 14th, 2024 at 08:04 UTC »

300 out of 300 members of the national assembly participated. 204 in favor, 85 against, 3 abstained, 8 invalid votes. It's finally over!