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Lee Jae-myung of South Korea's liberal Democratic Party was elected president on June 4.
President Yoon Suk-yeol was removed from office on April 4 after the country's Constitutional Court, in a unanimous decision, upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach him over the Dec 3 martial law decree.
SEOUL -- South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said Sunday it would be a "blatant violation of the Constitution" should the prime minister and ruling party jointly exercise presidential power.
Woo made the remarks during a press conference at the National Assembly, just hours after Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon issued a joint statement, affirming President Yoon Suk-yeol would not be involved in the country's internal and foreign affairs before he steps down.
Woo said that presenting the joint statement is an act of misleading the public as it makes an unconstitutional act look legitimate, calling it "arrogant."
"The transfer of presidential power comes from the people, and such a process should abide by the Constitution and the principle of popular sovereignty," Woo said, adding "Impeachment is the only legal procedure to suspend the president from carrying out his duties."
The parliament speaker also proposed talks between the ruling party and the main opposition to discuss the immediate suspension of Yoon's duties and resolve the political turmoil following Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law Tuesday.
In a further development Sunday, President Yoon accepted the resignation of Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.
"I believe stepping down is necessary to prevent further disruptions and confusion in governance," Lee said in a statement.
Lee's resignation followed an impeachment motion filed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Saturday, which accused him of complicity in the declaration of martial law and mobilizing police to block lawmakers from entering the National Assembly.
SEOUL - South Korean prosecutors Sunday booked President Yoon Suk-yeol as a suspect on charges of treason, Yonhap news agency reported.
Park Se-hyun, who leads a special investigation headquarters into Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration, said the prosecution is investigating charges of treason and abuse of power against the president, according to the report.
"Numerous complaints have been submitted, and an investigation is underway in accordance with the process," Park said.
While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors arrested former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who allegedly recommended Tuesday's brief martial law imposition to Yoon, making him the first figure detained over the case.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Sunday called for the immediate arrest and investigation of Yoon over his martial law decree.
SEOUL - South Korean ruling party leader said Sunday that President Yoon Suk-yeol would not be involved in the country's internal and foreign affairs before he steps down, the latest sign of convergence of views within the party towards the political fate of the embattled president.
The People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon made the remarks in a joint statement after a talk with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Han affirmed that the ruling party will seek an orderly and early end to Yoon's presidential term.
Yoon vowed in a live televised address to the nation a day earlier that he would leave all decisions, including his presidential term, to the People Power Party in order to stabilize the political situation.
SEOUL - South Korea's former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun has been arrested and his mobile phone has been confiscated, the country's Yonhap news agency reported Sunday morning.
Kim reportedly proposed the idea of declaring an emergency martial law to President Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon imposed martial law Tuesday night but repealed it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
The former defense minister said Wednesday that he had tendered his resignation to the president to take all responsibilities for the emergency martial law, apologizing to people for causing concerns and confusion.
Yoon accepted Kim's resignation, and named Choi Byung-hyuk, ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to head the defense ministry as Kim's successor, the presidential office said Thursday.
SEOUL -- South Korea's main liberal opposition Democratic Party Saturday vowed to keep pursuing a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol after the first one was scrapped on lack of quorum earlier in the day.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said the ruling People Power Party objected to bringing to account those who destroyed constitutional order and actively participated in military rebellion and insurrection.
Lee said his party will never give up on holding them responsible, pledging to impeach Yoon at all costs.
Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said Friday that if the impeachment motion failed to be passed, the party would propose another motion on Dec 11.
The first impeachment motion against Yoon was scrapped as most of the 108 governing party lawmakers boycotted it.
The Democratic Party and five other minor parties submitted the impeachment motion over the president's martial law declaration Wednesday.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it. The revocation was approved at a cabinet meeting.
SEOUL - South Korea's parliament on Saturday failed to pass President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment motion as most of ruling People Power Party lawmakers refused to vote on it.
After voting against a bill to investigate scandals involving Yoon's wife, most of the 108 ruling party lawmakers left the parliament hall.
One ruling party lawmaker remained at the hall and two came back after leaving.
Of 300 National Assembly lawmakers, 198 voted for the bill on the special prosecutor investigation of the first lady, with 102 against it. At least two-thirds of the lawmakers need to vote yes to pass the bill in revote.
Lawmakers of the opposition parties, including the main liberal Democratic Party, named the ruling party lawmakers one by one in unison, calling on them to come back and cast ballots.
More than 200 lawmakers are required to vote yes to pass the impeachment motion.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik ended the voting process about three hours after waiting for the ruling party lawmakers, announcing the impeachment motion was scrapped on lack of quorum.
Outside the parliament building, hundreds of thousands of civilians held a candlelight rally to demand the vote for Yoon's impeachment.
The Democratic Party and five other minor parties submitted the impeachment motion over the president's martial law declaration Wednesday.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it. The revocation was approved at a cabinet meeting.
According to the proposed motion, the declaration can be made only when the country faces "state of war, serious incident or other comparable national emergency" that lead to engagement with the enemy or extreme disturbance of social order.
The opposition noted that no sign of national emergency was detected at the time of Yoon's declaration, denouncing Yoon for not notifying the National Assembly the martial law imposition which violates both the constitution and the martial law.
The opposition said in the motion that Yoon committed an attempted treason to evade public calls to investigate and punish himself and his wife for criminal acts by instructing the defense minister to mobilize troops illegally and paralyze the parliament.
According to a survey of 504 voters conducted on Wednesday by the local pollster Realmeter, 73.6 percent were in favor of Yoon's impeachment, while 24.0 percent were against it.
Even in North Gyeongsang province and the city of Daegu, regraded as a traditional home turf for the conservative bloc, 66.2 percent agreed on the impeachment.
Those who termed Yoon's martial law declaration as insurrection hit 69.5 percent, while 24.9 percent disagreed with it.
Yoon has struggled with scandals involving his wife Kim Keon-hee during a presidential campaign and since he won the single five-year presidency in May 2022.
Kim was suspected of having been involved in stock price manipulation to gain illicit profits while having interfered in candidate nominations for the 2022 by-elections and the 2024 parliamentary elections and even in public opinion manipulation during the 2022 presidential election.
According to a Gallup Korea poll, Yoon's approval rating dived 3 percentage points from a week earlier to 16 percent this week, marking the lowest since Yoon took office in May 2022.
SEOUL - South Korea's parliament is expected to vote down President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment motion on lack of quorum, TV footage showed Saturday.
After voting against the bill to investigate scandals involving Yoon's wife, most of the 108 ruling People Power Party lawmakers left the parliamentary hall except three. One ruling party lawmaker remained in the hall and two came back after leaving.
Of 300 National Assembly lawmakers, 198 voted for the bill on the special prosecutor investigation of the first lady, with 102 against it. At least two-thirds of the lawmakers need to vote yes to pass the bill.
Lawmakers of the opposition parties, including the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, named the ruling party lawmakers one by one in unison, calling for them to come back and cast ballots.
More than 200 lawmakers are required to vote yes to pass the impeachment motion.
The motion will be scrapped at 00:48 am local time Sunday (1548 GMT Saturday) as it needs to be voted between 24 hours and 72 hours after being reported to the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party and five other minor parties submitted the impeachment motion over the president's martial law declaration Wednesday.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
South Korea parliament starts vote on Yoon's impeachment motion
SEOUL - South Korea's parliament on Saturday failed to pass a bill to investigate scandals involving the first lady of President Yoon Suk-yeol before casting ballots on the vote on Yoon's impeachment motion.
SEOUL - A majority of South Korea's ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote on President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment motion, TV footage showed Saturday.
The majority of legislators left the plenary session right after casting secret ballots on the bill to investigate scandals involving the first lady.
Some of the governing party members were shown sitting in the parliamentary hall, indicating their willingness to vote for the motion to remove Yoon from office.
After Yoon's declaration of an emergency martial law earlier this week, the opposition parties submitted the motion.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
SEOUL - South Korea's parliament opened a plenary session to vote on President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment motion and a bill to probe scandals involving the first lady, TV footage showed Saturday.
SEOUL - South Korea's ruling People Power Party decided to vote down President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment motion set to be voted on Saturday afternoon, according to multiple media outlets.
After Yoon's declaration of an emergency martial law earlier this week, the opposition parties submitted the motion to remove Yoon from office scheduled to be voted at 5:00 pm local time (0800 GMT).
Before voting on it, lawmakers were slated to cast ballots on the bill to investigate scandals involving the first lady.
The embattled president has struggled with the scandals involving his wife, including stock price manipulation and election interference allegations.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
SEOUL - Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, said Saturday that he was very disappointed at President Yoon Suk-yeol's televised address to the nation.
SEOUL -- Han Dong-hoon, leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, told reporters on Saturday that President Yoon Suk-yeol's early resignation would be inevitable.
SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol apologized for his martial law declaration during a televised address to the nation on Saturday.
S. Korean president to let ruling party decide on his term
SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Saturday that he will let the ruling People Power Party decide on his term, indicating his willingness to accept the shortened presidential tenure.
Yoon said in a televised address that he will let the governing party decide on ways to stabilize the political situation, including the remainder of his presidential term, noting that the party and the government will take responsibility together for state affairs.
The embattled president said he was very sorry and sincerely apologized to people who were very surprised by the martial law declaration, noting that he will not avoid his legal and political responsibility for it.
Yoon stressed that there will be no other martial law declaration, bowing his head in front of cameras.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
The main liberal opposition Democratic Party and five other minor parties submitted a motion to impeach Yoon on Wednesday, planning to vote on it Saturday afternoon.
Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, told reporters that President Yoon's early resignation is inevitable, saying it is impossible for the president to perform his duty normally under the current circumstances.
Han noted that he will try to prevent people from suffering by closely discussing people's livelihoods and significant issues with the prime minister.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said he was very disappointed at Yoon's address that never measured up to people's minds and further boosted people's sense of betrayal and anger.
Lee emphasized that there will be no other way to stabilize the turbulence other than an immediate resignation or an impeachment of the president, vowing his best efforts to let Yoon step down or be impeached.
S. Korean president delivers televised address
SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivered a televised address ahead of the vote on an impeachment motion against him at the parliament, the presidential office said Saturday.
Yoon delivered a live address to the nation at 10:00 am local time (0100 GMT), the office noted.
The president reportedly met with the leadership of the ruling People Power Party Friday night.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
The main liberal opposition Democratic Party and five other minor parties submitted the motion to impeach Yoon on Wednesday, planning to vote on it on Saturday.
SEOUL - South Korea's main liberal opposition Democratic Party decided to advance the time of vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol by two hours, multiple media outlets said Friday.
Park Sung-joon, deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, told reporters that the party planned to hold a plenary session and vote at 5:00 pm local time (0800 GMT) Saturday, two hours earlier than previously scheduled.
Park said the party considered a situation in which the ruling People Power Party may implement a delaying tactic, but he noted that it could urgently hold the plenary session if the situation changes.
The motion to impeach President Yoon was reported to the National Assembly early Thursday. It should be approved by at least 200 out of 300 lawmakers of the unicameral parliament.
To pass the motion, the opposition party needs support from eight of 108 People Power Party legislators.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met with the ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon Friday, local media reported, ahead of a parliamentary impeachment vote scheduled Saturday.
Han said he held talks with Yoon but heard nothing that could change his stance that calls for the swift suspension of Yoon's presidential powers, according to Yonhap news agency.
The meeting at the presidential residence was requested by Yoon, which was attended by Chung Jin-suk, Yoon's chief of staff, and People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, the report said.
Earlier in the day, Han demanded that Yoon be suspended from his post immediately, revealing the president had ordered the arrest of major political leaders on the night of martial law.
Opposition parties, which control 192 seats in the National Assembly, planned to hold a parliamentary vote on Yoon's impeachment at around 7 pm local time Saturday.
A motion to impeach the president requires a two-thirds vote in the 300-member parliament, meaning at least eight votes from the ruling party are needed to pass it.
SEOUL -- South Korea's Defense Ministry said on Friday that it suspended the duty of three military commanders involved in the martial law declaration, made by President Yoon Suk-yeol earlier this week.
Chiefs of the capital defense command, the army special warfare command, and the counterintelligence command were suspended and transferred to other units.
It came amid the lingering worry about another martial law declaration in the opposition bloc.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it. The revocation was approved at a cabinet meeting.
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SEOUL -- Han Dong-hoon, chief of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, said on Friday that President Yoon Suk-yeol needs to stop his performance of duty to protect the country and people given newly revealed facts.
Han made the remark at an emergency meeting of the party leadership, reversing his previous position to fight the opposition bloc's push to impeach Yoon.
The governing party leader noted that on the day of the martial law declaration, Yoon ordered the arrest of major politicians, saying it was confirmed through reliable grounds that Yoon used intelligence agencies to try to arrest politicians.
If Yoon continues to perform his presidential duty, it would be highly likely that extreme actions such as the martial law declaration can be repeated, putting the country and people into great danger, Han added.
It ran counter to Han's comments made Thursday when Han vowed to block a motion to impeach Yoon, driven by the opposition parties.
The Democratic Party and five other minor parties submitted the impeachment motion against Yoon on Wednesday, planning to vote on it on Saturday.
Yoon declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night before repealing it early Wednesday as the parliament voted against it.
SEOUL -- South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said Thursday that it will push for a vote Saturday for an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol over his shocking yet short-lived imposition of martial law.
Cho Seung-rae, the main opposition's senior spokesperson, said it plans to hold a vote on the motion at around 7 p.m. local time Saturday to give ruling party lawmakers enough time to deliberate over their decision on Yoon's actions, Yonhap news agency reported.
The Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the 300-seat parliament, has submitted the impeachment motion with the backing of five smaller opposition parties, arguing Yoon's martial law declaration constituted violations of the constitution and other laws.
The vote on the impeachment motion requires a two-thirds majority to pass, which would need eight of the 108 ruling party lawmakers to vote with opposition parties. If it passes, the Constitutional Court would then decide whether to uphold the motion, with a decision required within 180 days.
Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, said at a party meeting on Thursday that the unconstitutional martial law order cannot be justified, urging Yoon to leave the party. But he pledged his party will rally efforts to block the motion's passage to avoid confusion.
The floor leader of the People Power party Choo Kyung-ho also vowed Thursday that its lawmakers would "unite" to defeat the opposition-led impeachment motion, which would immediately suspend Yoon's presidential duties.
"President Yoon will not make any statements today," a presidential official told reporters Thursday.
During a meeting on Wednesday with key political figures, including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Yoon said there was "no wrongdoing" in the declaration of martial law and dismissed allegations of any impropriety, emphasizing that it was solely intended to prevent what he described as the Democratic Party's "reckless impeachment actions," local media reported.
Several high-profile cabinet ministers have expressed their intention to step down. Earlier on Thursday, Yoon accepted the resignation of his defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and nominated his ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, as a replacement, the presidential office said.
Kim, who reportedly proposed to the president declaring martial law, tendered his resignation on Wednesday evening, shortly after the Democratic Party submitted an impeachment motion against him.
The outgoing defense chief said he offered to step down in a bid to take full responsibility for all events related to Tuesday's martial law declaration and apologized to the South Korean people for causing disruption and confusion.
In a further development on Thursday, South Korean prosecutors banned Kim from leaving the country, Yonhap news agency said.
Meanwhile, South Korean police launched an investigation into a case of Yoon's treason charge, a senior police officer said Thursday.
Police have begun investigating the president for alleged "insurrection" following his declaration of martial law and subsequent lifting, which has sparked widespread political turmoil. Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Office of Investigation of the National Police Agency, confirmed that "the case has been assigned."
Yoon shocked the country by declaring emergency martial law Tuesday night, claiming to eradicate "anti-state" forces, only to lift the order six hours later after being rejected by 190 lawmakers in parliament.
On Wednesday night, demonstrators in downtown Seoul held a candlelight vigil and marched towards the presidential office against Yoon, demanding that he step down.
