The year 2024 has brought significant global upheaval, with South Korea now at the center of a major political crisis. President Yoon Suk Yeol, embroiled in controversy over his leadership, was impeached following a second parliamentary vote.
This dramatic development comes in the wake of a failed attempt to shut down the South Korean Parliament last December and a brief declaration of martial law that further deepened political tensions.
The impeachment motion passed with 204 votes in favor, 85 against, three abstentions, and eight invalid ballots. Notably, 12 members of Yoon’s own conservative People Power Party broke ranks to support the motion.
For now, Yoon remains in office but with his presidential powers suspended. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has assumed the role of acting president while the Constitutional Court reviews the case. The court has six months to decide whether to permanently remove Yoon from office. Should that happen, a snap presidential election will be called.
This marks the second impeachment of a conservative South Korean president in recent years, following the ousting of Park Geun-hye in 2017.
In a defiant statement, Yoon vowed to continue his fight, saying, “Although I am stopping for now, the journey I have