
SEOUL - South Korea’s opposition-led parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, voting to suspend him from his official duties over his short-lived attempt last week to impose martial law.
All 300 lawmakers attended the National Assembly, with 204 voting to impeach the president on allegations of insurrection. Eighty-five voted against, three abstained and eight votes were nullified.
Yoon is now suspended from exercising presidential powers, and the constitution requires the prime minister to take over in an acting role.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, a career technocrat whose wide-ranging experience and reputation for rationality could serve him well in his latest role, is the acting president.
“I will devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance,” Han said.
Yoon said in a televised address that he would “step aside”, and called for an end to “politics of excess and confrontation”.
“Though I must now step aside for a while, the journey toward the future … must never come to a stop,” he said.
The president’s fate will now be decided by the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days to issue a ruling. The court’s acting chief said it would proceed with a “swift, fair trial” but did not give a timeline.
The opposition needed 200 votes to remove Yoon from office for the “insurrection” last week, which threw South Korea into its deepest political turmoil in years.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP), of which Yoon is a member, said earlier on Saturday that it would maintain its official position to vote against the impeachment.
However, seven ruling party lawmakers had earlier declared their support for impeachment, and only eight PPP votes were needed for the motion to pass. In the end, the opposition prevailed.
The vote took place as tens of thousands rallied in Seoul outside the National Assembly.
Yoon had vowed to fight “until the very last minute” and doubled down on unsubstantiated claims that the opposition is in league with the country’s communist foes in North Korea.
The main opposition Democratic Party said a vote for impeachment was the “only way” to “safeguard the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy and South Korea’s future”.
“We can no longer endure Yoon’s madness,” spokeswoman Hwang Jung-a said prior to the vote at 4pm local time.
Outside, the mood was festive as supporters of impeachment gathered to await the outcome of the vote.
K-pop singer Yuri of the band Girl’s Generation — whose song Into the New World has become a protest anthem — said she had pre-paid for food for fans attending the rally.
“Stay safe and take care of your health!” she said on a fan chat platform. (Story continues below)

An aerial view of the National Assembly building in Seoul on Saturday, ahead of the second impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. (Photo: AFP)
Up to the court
If the Constitutional Court backs his removal, Yoon would become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.
But there is also precedent for the court to block impeachment. In 2004, then-president Roh Moo-hyun was removed by parliament for alleged election law violations and incompetence, but the court later reinstated him.
The court currently only has six judges, meaning their decision must be unanimous.
Even if the court spares him, Yoon can still face “legal responsibility” for the martial law bid, said Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at the Korea University Institute of Law.
“This is clearly an act of insurrection,” she said.
Yoon has remained unapologetic and defiant as the fallout from his disastrous martial law declaration has deepened and an investigation into his inner circle has widened.
On Friday, prosecutors said they had arrested a military commander who headed the Capital Defence Command.
The Seoul Central District Court also issued arrest warrants for the national police chief and the head of the city’s police, citing the “risk of destruction of evidence”. (Story continues below)

A protester wearing a mask depicting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol participates in a rally calling for his impeachment, in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Saturday. (Photo: Reuters)
Challenges for acting president
In a country sharply divided by partisan rhetoric, new acting president Han has been a rare official whose varied career transcended party lines.
He faces a challenging task of keeping government functioning through its gravest political crisis in four decades, while also dealing with threats from nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea, and a slowing economy at home.
His tenure could also be threatened by criminal investigations into his role in the martial law decision.
The Democratic Party has filed a complaint against Han to be included in the investigations for failing to block Yoon’s attempt at martial law.
If parliament decides to impeach Han, the finance minister is next in line among cabinet members to serve as acting president.
Han, 75, has served in leadership positions for more than three decades under five different presidents, both conservative and liberal.
His roles have included ambassador to the United States, finance minister, trade minister, presidential secretary for policy coordination, prime minister, ambassador to the OECD, and head of various think-tanks and organisations.
With a Harvard doctorate in economics, Han’s expertise in the economy, trade and diplomacy as well as a reputation for rationality, moderate demeanour and hard work has made him a regular go-to man in South Korean politics.
Han has been prime minister since Yoon’s term began in 2022, his second time serving in the role after a stint as prime minister under former president Roh Moo-hyun in 2007-08.
Fluent in English, he was appointed South Korea’s ambassador to the United States in 2009, working in Washington at a time when current President Joe Biden was vice president, and contributed to Congress approving the Free Trade Agreement in 2011.
“He is a civil servant through and through who didn’t take on a political colour despite working under (five presidents),” said a former high-ranking government official who declined to be identified.