A vote to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief imposition of martial law was in limbo on Saturday, as members of his party walked out and the opposition called on them to return and vote.
While lawmakers debated the motion, introduced by the main opposition Democratic Party, only a single member of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) remained in his seat while a couple of others returned during voting, casting doubt over whether the measure would have enough votes to pass.
The lull was an odd counterpoint to the shouts and cursing in parliament that had preceded the vote, held four days after Yoon plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy and key U.S. military ally into its greatest political crisis in decades, threatening to shatter South Korea’s reputation as a democratic success story.
The opposition needs at least eight votes from the PPP to reach the needed two-thirds majority. As PPP lawmakers departed after casting votes on a separate motion to appoint a special prosecutor in investigate the first lady, some people shouted and cursed them.
When debate began on the impeachment motion, opposition lawmakers recited the names of the PPP members who had left.
After voting began, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called on PPP members to return as opposition lawmakers settled in. It was unclear how long they planned to wait, but the secretary of parliament said they had until 12:48 a.m. on Sunday (1548 GMT on Saturday) to wrap up the vote.
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