(Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s opposition ramped up the heat on President Yoon Suk Yeol with an impeachment motion after he plunged the nation into a political crisis by briefly imposing martial law.
The Democratic Party and five other opposition parties submitted the motion Wednesday afternoon, and the impeachment bill was presented to a parliament plenary session a few hours later. It came just a day since Yoon’s shock move to take direct political control and his later humiliating climbdown.
Although the ruling People Power Party voted with the opposition to reject Yoon’s martial law order, it has decided to oppose ousting the embattled leader.
The main opposition party earlier said it will also pursue charges of treason against Yoon, as well as South Korea’s defense minister and safety minister, alleging that the declaration of martial law was illegal. The defense minister has offered his resignation. Yoon is preparing to give a speech to the nation later Thursday. The Hankyoreh newspaper cited a ruling party lawmaker it didn’t identify as saying he’s likely to apologize for the consequences of his action.
Yoon’s surprise gamble on Tuesday night to assert his authority in response to continued deadlock blindsided the nation, his own People Power Party and global allies including the US.
The chaotic developments whipsawed investors and prompted reassurances from monetary authorities that they would provide help in markets if needed, though Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong told Bloomberg the political events wouldn’t increase the likelihood of another interest rate cut.
While the president rescinded the move early Wednesday, just hours after issuing the decree, his action triggered an outpouring of anger from the public and from his own party. He now faces widespread calls to resign, with the prospect of yet another South Korean president facing the ignominy of an impeachment process.
“Yoon’s declaration of martial law appeared to be both legal overreach and a political miscalculation, unnecessarily risking South Korea’s economy and security,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “He sounded like a politician under siege, making a desperate move against mounting scandals, institutional obstruction, and calls for impeachment, all of which are now likely to intensify.”
Lawmakers will need to wait at least 24 hours before they can vote on the impeachment motion with a time limit of 72 hours, possibly extending this stage of the political drama to the weekend. A two-thirds majority is required to approve the impeachment proceedings. The opposition would need 200 votes.
The president would be suspended from his duties during proceedings if launched. The final ruling on his impeachment would come from the constitutional court. The parliament also plans to hold a hearing on the martial law declaration on Thursday morning, according to YTN.
“Impeachment is a must,” said Chun Ha-ram, a minor opposition party lawmaker joining the motion. “It’s now time to think about how to prosecute Yoon for treason.”
With the martial law decree rescinded, investors dialed back some of their worst projections for the outcome of South Korea’s political chaos. The won, Asia’s worst performing currency this year, regained most of its lost ground on Wednesday after plunging more than 3% shortly when initial news of the martial law decree broke on Tuesday. Stocks were hammered at the open, before recovering some of the losses to close down 1.4% in the afternoon.
Still, the move leaves confidence in Seoul’s policymaking process battered and raises doubts about whether it will become too inwardly focused to effectively deal with the challenges presented by Donald Trump’s return to the White House and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s weapons program and his deepening ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. South Korea is also a key player in the world’s supply chains for semiconductors and tech parts.
“It is hard to understate how startling the President Yoon Suk Yeol move is,” said Capital Economics analysts Mark Williams and Gareth Leather. “These events will leave a huge dent in investor confidence in the economy and its financial markets.”
Moody’s Analytics said in a note that if any further political fallout isn’t resolved in a timely fashion, it would weigh on the government’s ability to effectively pass important legislation and tackle numerous crises, including fragile economic growth prospects, a challenging geopolitical environment and structural constraints from demographic aging.
The BOK held an extraordinary meeting Wednesday morning just a week after its surprise move to cut interest rates as members discussed steps to shield the economy and markets.
The BOK will increase short-term liquidity and take “active” steps in currency markets as needed to ensure stability, it said in a statement following a hastily called board meeting.
BOK’s Rhee tried to play down the significance of a “short-lived” political event for the economic outlook in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
“Economic dynamics in Korea can be separated from the political dynamics, given our strong market fundamentals and the mature democracy,” Rhee said.
The imposition of martial law by Yoon, 63, was a high-stakes gamble he claimed would prevent the opposition from trying to paralyze his administration amid a political rift that will now focus on what action will be taken against him.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the military will prioritize its role of protecting the people, Yonhap said, in a possible indication that the armed forces will not get directly involved in the political wrangling ahead.
“I think it’s safe to say that Yoon’s days as president are numbered,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, senior fellow at Stimson Center’s Korea Program and 38 North.
Among the potential replacements for Yoon, should he step down or be removed from the presidency, is Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party and Democratic Party chief Lee Jae-myung.
Han moved quickly to reject the president’s decision to impose martial law. The 51-year-old worked with Yoon as prosecutors before they both moved into politics and is best known for playing a central role in investigating and securing the convictions of two former conservative presidents: Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.
Lee’s Democratic Party enjoyed a landslide win in parliamentary elections in April, but he faces the risk of being excluded from political life after a court convicted him of violating election laws in November.
Current Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo could serve as a caretaker leader in the interim.
In a head-spinning night of developments, lawmakers gathered at parliament to vote down the martial law move announced by Yoon in a live televised address late in the evening. Yoon followed up with another televised address to say he would accept the National Assembly’s demand.
Even before Tuesday’s dramatic events, Yoon was deeply unpopular, and his approval ratings had plunged to record lows.
“It is so embarrassing that I can’t see the faces of Koreans living abroad,” Park Sam-choon, 76-year old at a rally demanding Yoon’s impeachment said on Wednesday. “Yoon should step down immediately. I watched so many presidents so far — even the first president of South Korea. For me, Yoon looks like a 5-year-old boy. He doesn’t know what he is doing.”
For many South Koreans, this political and seasonal situation is reminiscent of the winter of 2016. Former President Park Geun-hye faced a motion for impeachment that December following a lengthy controversy over corruption and influence peddling allegations. She was ousted and eventually sentenced to time in prison for abuse of power.
“There are a lot of things that we still don’t know but one thing we know is that this has confirmed that the president holds values totally different from those of ordinary South Korean citizens,” said Park Won-ho, a political science professor at Seoul National University. “It won’t be easy for them to consider him now as their president.”
--With assistance from Sam Kim, Shinhye Kang, Heejin Kim, Katia Dmitrieva, Jaehyun Eom, Seyoon Kim, Eunkyung Seo and Clarissa Batino.
(Updates with ruling party’s decision to oppose Yoon’s impeachment in third paragraph)
