South Korea Votes To Impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol

TaiwanPlus News

South Korea's lawmakers have voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for his short-lived call for martial law in early December. The country's constitutional court needs to approve the impeachment process within 180 days.

Transcript

00:00Jubilation on the streets of South Korea, as lawmakers vote to impeach their president.

00:21President Yoon Suk-yol has been stripped of his powers. The final decision regarding his

00:26now in the hands of the Constitutional Court, who must decide his fate within 180 days.

00:33But a defiant Yoon refuses to step down.

00:51It's been a turbulent few weeks for South Korea since Yoon unexpectedly declared

00:55martial law on December 3rd, only to rescind his decision hours later, after lawmakers

01:01voted unanimously to block him. The debacle led to thousands of people taking to the streets

01:07in protest, calling for his removal.

01:12An initial vote to impeach failed, but now with enough of the president's own party

01:17members defecting, a second attempt has passed. Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon says they're

01:23putting the people before politics.

01:36And getting right to work as interim president, Prime Minister Han Deok-su, with a sobering

01:41reminder that South Korea can't afford to let its guard down during this period of political

01:47turbulence.

02:06U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised South Korea for its democratic resilience,

02:11reaffirming his country's commitment to one of their most vital allies in the Asian Pacific.

02:30If the Constitutional Court agrees to impeach, South Korea must hold a snap election within

02:3660 days. Until then, Yoon sits as a president without power.

02:41Eason Pan and Rhys Ayres for Taiwan Plus.

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