Barely Escaping Impeachment, Yoon... Presidential Office Breathes Sigh of Relief "No Statement to Be Released"

Opposition Announces Reintroduction of Impeachment Motion on the 11th
Prolonged Impeachment Crisis Foreseen as a 'Thorny Path'

The impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was defeated in the National Assembly plenary session on the 7th, narrowly allowing President Yoon to avoid impeachment. Although the presidential office was able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being, the opposition party has announced plans to reintroduce the impeachment motion on the 11th, signaling a prolonged impeachment political crisis and keeping tensions high.

The failure of President Yoon's impeachment is interpreted as being decisively influenced by a change in stance by Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party. On the morning of the day, President Yoon issued a public apology statement saying, "I will entrust the future political stability measures, including the term issue, to our party," and Han, who had previously supported impeachment, reversed his position and abstained from voting, enabling the defense against impeachment.

Until the day before, Han had effectively shifted to support impeachment, stating, "I judge that the prompt suspension of President Yoon's duties is necessary," but he changed his position again on the day. Pro-Yoon lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae, who had publicly supported impeachment the previous day, also switched to opposing it during the party meeting that morning.

The People Power Party confirmed as party policy at the afternoon party meeting held at the National Assembly that both the impeachment motion against President Yoon and the special prosecution law for First Lady Kim Keon-hee would be rejected.

Impeachment Motion Dismissed Due to Lack of Quorum

The approval requirement for the presidential impeachment motion is a two-thirds majority (200 votes) of all members. Even if all opposition lawmakers voted in favor, the total would be 192 votes, so if there were fewer than 8 defections from the People Power Party, the motion would fail. Ultimately, People Power Party lawmakers abstained from voting, effectively opposing impeachment, and the motion was dismissed due to lack of quorum.

At one point, some ruling party lawmakers, including Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Ye-ji, returned to the plenary hall to participate in the vote, raising tensions, but the quorum was not met. Since the vote was by secret ballot, there was a possibility of defections against party policy, but it is analyzed that concerns within and outside the ruling party about the potential opening of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to the presidential race if President Yoon were impeached played a role.

The conservative camp's consensus that President Yoon's impeachment must be blocked was also influenced by the revival of the 'trauma' from former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment. However, in this case of the martial law incident, negative public opinion is spreading significantly, which is expected to be a variable going forward.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is greeting after delivering a national address at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 7th. Photo by Yonhap News.

On the morning of the day, President Yoon issued a public apology statement regarding the martial law incident and then moved to his Hannam-dong residence to observe the impeachment vote results. Ultimately, with the impeachment motion dismissed due to lack of quorum, a sense of relief was detected.

The presidential office did not issue a separate statement regarding the dismissal of the National Assembly's impeachment motion against the president due to the ruling party's abstention. However, as it is expected that President Yoon will effectively take a 'step back from the frontline,' preparations for follow-up responses are reportedly underway.

Yoon Observes Results at Hannam-dong Residence... Initially 'Relieved'

Earlier, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo met with People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon at the Prime Minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, immediately after President Yoon's statement to discuss future government stabilization measures. A presidential office official said, "There is no separate statement today, but since the president has entrusted future political stabilization measures to the party, there will be various communications during the upcoming discussions."

Currently, with Han stating, "The prime minister and the party will closely discuss the livelihood situation and other important matters," it is likely that President Yoon will step back from the frontline, and a system where a responsible prime minister governs the country together with the ruling party is expected. Discussions on President Yoon's resignation through a constitutional amendment to shorten the presidential term from a single five-year term to a four-year renewable term are also expected to intensify.

However, regarding President Yoon's use of the term "our party (People Power Party) and the government will jointly take responsibility for future state affairs" in his statement, some interpret this as expressing his intention not to leave the party.

Meanwhile, the 'Special Prosecution Law for First Lady Kim Keon-hee,' which President Yoon requested a reconsideration of, was also rejected in the National Assembly's re-vote on the same day and was automatically dismissed.