Opposition parties have submitted an impeachment motion against South Korea‘s President Yoon Suk-yeol over his declaration of martial law, Al Jazeera reports.
Six opposition parties lodged the bill in parliament on Wednesday, local media reported. The opposition had earlier threatened to launch the process should Yoon not immediately step down over the botched order, which prompted chaotic scenes overnight as lawmakers tussled with troops in order to enter the National Assembly to vote it down.
“Yoon’s declaration of martial law is a clear violation of the constitution,” the Democratic Party, the main opposition that holds a parliamentary majority, said in a resolution issued following an emergency meeting at the National Assembly, according to the state-funded Yonhap News Agency.
The resolution described Yoon’s actions as a “serious act of rebellion” and “a perfect reason for impeachment”.
The opposition parties are understood to be planning to report the motion to a parliamentary plenary session on Thursday and to put it up for a vote on Friday or Saturday.
Under South Korea’s constitution, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in the 300-member National Assembly.
The Democratic Party currently holds 170 seats in parliament, meaning it would need some members of Yoon’s governing People Power Party to support the bid to remove the president.
The leader of the ruling party on Wednesday slammed the incident and called for those involved to be held accountable.
“The president must directly and thoroughly explain this tragic situation,” Han Dong-hoon told reporters in a televised broadcast.