Yoon Suk Yeol Evades Impeachment: Political Turmoil in South Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol narrowly avoided impeachment in a parliament vote following his controversial attempt to impose martial law. The vote fell short of the required threshold as his party abstained. Despite rescinding the military order and apologizing, opposition plans to renew the impeachment motion.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol narrowly avoided impeachment in the National Assembly on Saturday. The opposition-led parliament aimed to impeach Yoon following his brief martial law imposition earlier this week. Members of Yoon's party boycotted the vote, resulting in only 195 ballots cast, falling short of the 200 required for the impeachment motion to pass.

The nation closely observed the outcome, with National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik reflecting public sentiment by expressing disappointment over the lack of a vote. The main opposition Democratic Party vowed to revive the impeachment motion next week if it didn't succeed on Saturday.

Earlier, Yoon caused public uproar by granting the military extensive emergency powers to deal with what he termed "anti-state forces" and opposition politicians. He later rescinded the order and apologized but resisted calls to resign before the parliamentary vote.

(With inputs from agencies.)