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South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol appears set to survive an impeachment motion after a last minute deal with his conservative People Power party that led to its members boycotting the vote.
The walkout, which was met with cries of “impeach Yoon!” and “join the vote!” from protesters, will heighten the political turmoil in Asia’s fourth-largest economy following a tumultuous week that showed both the endurance and the fragility of South Korean democracy.
Opposition parties, who control 192 of the 300 seats in the national assembly, were confident earlier this week that they could secure votes from eight PPP lawmakers and reach the two-thirds majority required to impeach the president.
But following a terse apology delivered by Yoon in a one-minute address on Saturday morning, PPP leaders said they would not support the motion and walked out of the national assembly chamber.
Having voted down a bill to investigate allegations of stock manipulation against Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, all but one of the PPP caucus left the chamber before the impeachment vote.
A few members returned. The stand-off left the vote unresolved with the parliamentary session set to continue until after midnight local time.
The walkout was met with dismay among the tens of thousands of people gathered outside parliament on Saturday to demand Yoon’s removal over his failed attempt to impose martial law on Tuesday.
“I am so heartbroken,” said Oh Sang-jin, a 65-year-old retiree attending the protest outside the parliament. “So many people have sacrificed their lives to democratise the country — now they are trying to turn back the clock and allow dictatorship.”
Analysts said Yoon and PPP leaders appeared to have reached a deal whereby the president would hand over political direction of the country to his party and agree to stand down at a time of the party’s choosing, in return for support in the impeachment vote. Yoon’s presidential term is due to run until 2027.
A former official in Yoon’s presidential administration said that while most South Korean conservatives did not condone Yoon’s actions this week, they had been “traumatised” by their experience of the impeachment of former conservative president Park Geun-hye in 2017, which paved the way for the election of Yoon’s left-wing predecessor Moon Jae-in.
By giving Yoon a stay of execution, they hoped to buy themselves time to prepare for a presidential election once Yoon does eventually step down, she said.
Suh Bok-kyung, a political commentator, said it was “complacent” of the PPP to think an arrangement with Yoon would appease public anger.
“The public are unlikely to accept any kind of behind the scenes deal between Yoon and the party,” said Suh.
“Han [Dong-hoon, the PPP leader] may think he has control over the situation but Yoon is not someone who will let Han dictate things. Once time has passed, he will do something more dangerous to retake control.”
