The National Assembly of South Korea passed the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol during a plenary session held on December 14, 2024, at around 5:00 p.m. Of the total 300 votes cast, 204 were in favor, 85 were against, 3 abstained, and 8 were invalid. This was the second impeachment motion introduced against President Yoon in the National Assembly, following a prior motion initiated by the opposition parties that failed to pass on December 7. The impeachment follows a period of political turbulence triggered by the President’s controversial declaration of emergency martial law on December 3, which was swiftly nullified by the National Assembly during an emergency session, leading to the lifting of martial law just six hours after its imposition. This marks the third time in South Korea's constitutional history that an impeachment motion against a sitting president has passed the National Assembly. The decision has brought to attention critical questions regarding the scope of the acting president's authority during the suspension of presidential powers, the timeline and procedures governing the Constitutional Court's review of the impeachment to determine whether it should be upheld, and the government's approach to managing state affairs during this interim period.
A. What Comes Next: Procedures Following the Passage of the Impeachment Motion
B. Implications for Governing Institutions and Key Sectors
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[Korean version] 대통령 탄핵 정국의 전망 및 시사점