President Yoon's 'Second Impeachment Motion' to be Voted Tomorrow... 'High Possibility of Approval'

The impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, initiated for the second time by the Democratic Party of Korea and other opposition parties, is scheduled to be voted on at the National Assembly plenary session on the 14th.

Jeong Myeong-ho, Secretary-General of the National Assembly, reported on the 13th at the plenary session that "an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol has been proposed by 190 members including Park Chan-dae, Hwang Un-ha, Chun Ha-ram, Yoon Jong-oh, and Yoon Hye-in." The main reason for impeachment is the violation of the principles of popular sovereignty and separation of powers due to the declaration of martial law on the 3rd.

Controversial contents such as the evaluation of the Yoon administration's foreign policy, which were included in the first impeachment motion, have been omitted. The 'unlawful enforcement ordinance governance', which was mentioned to be added, was also excluded. Instead, the logic and evidence that the declaration of martial law constitutes treason were reinforced, increasing the document to 44 pages, 16 more than the first impeachment motion.

According to the National Assembly Act, the impeachment motion must be voted on within 72 hours after 24 hours of being reported at the plenary session. The opposition plans to hold a plenary session at 5 p.m. on the 14th to vote on President Yoon's impeachment motion. The first impeachment motion on the 7th was not established as it failed to meet the quorum of 200 due to the absence of People Power Party members.

However, as the number of dissenting votes from the People Power Party increases, the possibility of the second impeachment motion passing the National Assembly threshold has grown. Considering the opposition holds 192 seats, if more than 8 votes come from the People Power Party, the impeachment motion will pass. As of today, seven members from the People Power Party, including Cho Kyung-tae, Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Sang-wook, Kim Ye-ji, Kim Jae-seop, Jin Jong-oh, and Han Ji-ah, have publicly expressed their support for the impeachment.

Given the situation, there are speculations that President Yoon Suk-yeol might be impeached. Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, predicted at the opening ceremony of the Daegu Metropolitan Railway on the 13th, "With more traitors emerging, it seems impeachment will eventually happen." He added, "Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has the experience, so the government will remain stable," predicting a stable operation of the acting authority system.

Oh Se-seong, Hankyung.com reporter sesung@hankyung.com