South Korea's Impeachment Saga: Yoon Suk Yeol Under Fire

A legislative push in South Korea to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law failed as most lawmakers from his conservative party boycotted the vote. Despite the bill's defeat, public protests calling for Yoon's ouster are expected to grow, further deepening political chaos.

A legislative attempt in South Korea to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol collapsed on Saturday after members of his conservative party abstained from the vote. This push was initiated in response to Yoon's brief imposition of martial law, a move that has sparked widespread criticism.

The defeat of the impeachment motion, however, is likely to exacerbate public protests aimed at Yoon's removal and contribute to mounting political disarray in the nation. A recent survey indicates that a majority of South Koreans favor impeachment, signaling a growing divide between public sentiment and political actions.

Despite internal criticism within Yoon's ruling party regarding the martial law declaration, the party collectively opted against impeachment, fearing potential loss of power to liberal forces. Achieving impeachment would have required a supermajority, with backing from 200 of the 300 National Assembly members, a threshold unmet as the opposition fell short of the necessary votes.

(With inputs from agencies.)