South Korean opposition initiates president’s impeachment
The vote on the bill should be held within 24 to 72 hours from the time of its consideration at a plenary session.
South Korea was rated last year as one of the most “democratic Country “ on a Western DEMOCRACY INDEX with India well below !!!! Now the country’s opposition parties have submitted a bill calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, the Yonhap news agency reported.
According to the norms, the vote on the bill should be held within 24 to 72 hours from the time of its consideration at a plenary session, which is expected to take place on December 5.
This means that the decision to impeach the South Korean president could be made on December 6 or 7.
The National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament, has 300 seats, 108 of which are controlled by the president’s People Power Party.
Two-thirds of the lawmakers must vote in favour of the bill to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol.Also South Korea’s biggest umbrella labour group – the Confederation of Korean Trade Unions (KCTU) – has announced on its website an indefinite nationwide strike to continue until president Yoon Suk Yeol resigns.
The statement says that KCTU begins its “indefinite general strike” on December 4 to demand the resignation of the entire presidential administration in the wake of the decision to impose martial law in the country.
On Thursday, workers of South Korea’s biggest railway company KORAIL will also go on an indefinite strike, demanding payment increases.
The event was planned before the martial law was announced and large-scale rallies gripped the country’s capital.
The country’s parliament voted on Tuesday to cancel the martial law, imposed by the president earlier in the day for the first time in 45 years. In all, the martial law remained in force for just about six hours.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared “emergency martial law.” The president said he had imposed martial law because the opposition, which holds a majority in parliament, paralyzes the work of the executive branch of power by attempting to impeach its executives, including key figures in the government.
According to the president, he introduced the measure to combat “pro-North Korean elements” and protect constitutional order. He also cited the opposition’s refusal to accept the cabinet’s budget proposal.
A number of governmental agencies summoned their personnel for emergency meetings. Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung, the country’s leading opposition politician, called the president’s decision unconstitutional.
The party summoned its lawmakers to the parliament, currently cordoned off by the police.
Later, Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik overturned the president’s decision to impose martial law, declaring it invalid and illegal.
