The screen shows footage of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivering an address to the nation at Seoul Station on December 7, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.
Chung Sung Joon | Getty Images News | Getty Images
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached on Saturday in a vote held after his failed attempt to impose martial law in early December.
Presidential elections must be held within 60 days if the incumbent president is impeached or resigns.
Previous impeachment case On December 7, the South Korean Parliament did not receive 200 votes out of 300 in favor of the South Korean National Assembly, after lawmakers allied to Yoon's People Power Party withdrew before raising their hands. The tide has since turned, with Pakistan People's Party leader Han Dong-hun on Thursday appearing to throw his support behind a parliamentary vote to impeach Yoon and calling for the establishment of an ethics committee to discuss his departure from the party. According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
The proposal was instigated by opposition lawmakers after Yoon on December 3 briefly imposed martial law for the first time since the 1979 military coup, citing the need to “protect the constitutional order based on freedom and eliminate pro-North Korean anti-state actors.” Groups that steal the freedom and happiness of our people.” According to reports NBC News. The action, which was reversed within six hours, raised questions about the possibility that Yoon would try to impose nationwide martial law again.
The president has faced a series of scandals, many of which surrounded his wife, businesswoman Kim Keun-hee, since taking office for a single term in 2022. fell to 17.3% In the days following the Dec. 3 incident, Yoon, who initially said he had placed his fate in his party's hands, relentlessly resisted growing calls to step down from opposition lawmakers and peaceful protesters. It was Forbidden from leaving the country.
Yoon is not the first South Korean president to face an impeachment vote since the turn of the century, as Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye were removed in 2004 and 2016, respectively, as a result of such actions.
On Thursday, Yoon delivered a long, defiant national speech in which he pledged to “fight to the end” and “stand firm.” According to reports NBC News.
“Opposition parties are currently on the rampage, claiming that declaring martial law is tantamount to rebellion,” Yoon said. “Is what they claim true?”
The political turmoil initially sent markets reeling and raised concerns about the democratic stability of Asia's fourth-largest economy – but John Woods, chief investment officer at Lombard Odier, said South Korea watchers are now “looking at this crisis” and refocusing on domestic profits. .
“There's certainly an end to the game, I think, in sight, and there's no doubt it will end in the first quarter or so of next year,” Woods told CNBC's Tanveer Gill on Thursday. “This political volatility is something we need to look at very seriously. But certainly the broad value of (South) Korea as an AI agent is something we cannot overlook either.”
The booming technology, chips and artificial intelligence industry plays a central role in South Korea's economy, which is supported by the International Monetary Fund Expectations It will expand by 2.5% this year.
