A bid to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol over his ill-fated declaration of martial law this week failed after members of his party boycotted the vote.
Saturday’s walkout means the national assembly lacks the 200 votes needed to begin the process of ousting the embattled Yun.
“With a total of 195 votes, the number of members who voted fell short of the required two-thirds majority of the total number of members,” said National Assembly Speaker Woh Won-shik. “Therefore, I declare that the vote on this matter is void.”
The dramatic departure meant uncertainty surrounding Yoon’s fate.
After showing on Friday that some members of Yun’s People’s Power Party (PPP) could join opposition lawmakers and support impeachment, the mood had changed by Saturday, with lawmakers rallying around their embattled president.
The opposition parties, led by the Democrats, hold 192 seats in the 300-seat assembly and needed only eight PPP MPs for the impeachment motion to succeed.
But the plan failed when PPP members walked out of the chamber just before the televised vote, leaving the assembly without enough MPs to pass the motion unless they returned.
MPs walked out over angry protests from some of those still inside the chamber, while around 150,000 people demonstrated outside.
Three PPP lawmakers returned to the chamber, but the speaker of the assembly, Woo Won-shik, stopped short of announcing the result and urged other absent lawmakers to return “to protect the Republic of Korea and its democracy.”
Yun is less than three years into his five-year bachelor tenure. His declaration of martial law, which lasted six hours before being lifted by lawmakers in the early hours of Wednesday, drew widespread condemnation across the South Korean political spectrum and sparked mass protests in Seoul and other cities.
Protesters booed and some cried in frustration as lawmakers left Saturday. “Even though we didn’t get the result we wanted today, I’m neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it in the end,” said Jo Ah-gyong, who was among the protesters.
Given their failure to start the legislative and legal process that could have ended Yun’s presidency, opposition parties could table a second impeachment motion, possibly as early as Wednesday.
There is speculation that PPP lawmakers wanted to avoid the drama of impeachment – a move that could hand the main opposition Democratic Party a political advantage when the country elects a new president – and instead try to stage a more orderly exit.
Hours before the deputies gathered in the National Assembly, Yoon apologized for his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, promising to suffer any legal or political consequences.
In a two-minute televised address, his first public appearance since lifting the martial law order, Yun said he “deeply regretted” the decision, which he said was born of desperation, and vowed not to try to impose martial law again.
“I am very sorry and I would like to sincerely apologize to the people who were shocked,” Yun said before bowing. “I leave it to my party to take steps to stabilize the political situation in the future, including the question of my tenure.”
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Yoon’s apology was “very disappointing” and only added to public anger and a sense of betrayal.
“The very existence of the president is the biggest risk to South Korea right now,” Lee said, maintaining that “there is no other solution” than his immediate resignation or removal through impeachment.
The leader of Yun’s own party, Han Dong-hun, said the president’s early resignation was inevitable and that he was no longer able to fulfill his duties, according to Yonhap.
The turmoil stemming from Yun’s stunt has raised alarm among key diplomatic partners, including neighboring Japan and Seoul’s biggest ally, the United States, as one of Asia’s strongest democracies faces a political crisis.
Opposition lawmakers say Yun’s declaration of martial law is tantamount to a self-coup and are drafting their impeachment bid on sedition charges.
Democratic Party lawmaker Soyoung Lee tried to reassure the international community on Friday night.
“If President Yun is impeached today or tomorrow, there is no need to worry; the international community can continue to invest with confidence in Korea’s strong democracy and resilience,” she said.
The PPP decided to oppose the impeachment at a meeting of lawmakers, despite pleas from Khan, who is not a lawmaker and does not have the right to vote.
A recent opinion poll showed 73.6 percent of South Koreans support impeachment, with majority support even in traditional conservative strongholds.
Han said on Friday that he had received intelligence that, during martial law, Yun had ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence chief to arrest and detain unspecified politicians on charges of “anti-state activities.”
Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, later told lawmakers that Yoon called after martial law was imposed and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence department detain key politicians .
Politicians targeted include Han, Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo, according to Kim Byung-ki, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.
Yun’s presidency was plagued by political failures, mounting economic problems and controversial appointments, as well as scandals involving his wife, Kim Keon-hee, who proved to be his biggest political liability.
These include allegations of stock price manipulation, illegal involvement in party candidate nominations and accepting a 3 million won (£1,675) Dior bag as a gift from a pastor.
Yun vetoed three separate bills to create a special prosecutor to investigate his wife, prompting opposition lawmakers to include alleged attempts to shield his family from investigation among grounds for impeachment.
On Saturday, lawmakers rejected a fourth attempt to create a special prosecutor to investigate Kim in the run-up to an impeachment bid. The rolling vote was intended to ensure that ruling party MPs would participate in both motions, but PPP MPs started walking out as soon as the first vote ended.
Agencies contributed to this report
