President Yoon's Office 'Sombre' Over Impeachment Approval News... Calmly Preparing Follow-up Measures

Yoon Watches Vote at Hannam-dong Residence
Han Deok-su Serves as Acting President

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a national address at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News

As the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol was passed in the National Assembly, the atmosphere at the Yongsan Presidential Office fell into a somber silence. With the People Power Party maintaining its party line to 'reject' President Yoon's impeachment motion that afternoon, some aides who had not given up hope until the end wore grim expressions upon hearing the motion had passed.

It is reported that a significant number of staff at the Yongsan Presidential Office came to work that afternoon and watched the National Assembly's impeachment vote live on TV.

Until the day before, seven ruling party lawmakers had publicly expressed support for the impeachment motion, and with only one vote needed for it to pass, its approval was anticipated. However, some aides kept their eyes glued to the live broadcast, hoping for an unexpected twist. When the motion passed with 204 votes in favor, the aides could not hide their gloom.

The impeachment motion against President Yoon was approved in the plenary session that afternoon with all 300 members of the National Assembly present: 204 votes in favor, 85 against, 3 abstentions, and 8 invalid votes. Of the 204 votes in favor, excluding 192 from the opposition parties, it is estimated that 12 votes came from the People Power Party, which maintained the 'reject' party line.

One aide said, "The People Power Party's party line was set to reject the impeachment motion, so we held onto some hope, but we could not prevent further defections. Although we had anticipated this, it feels devastating now that it has become reality."

Currently, the Yongsan Presidential Office is maintaining a calm atmosphere, as the approval was somewhat expected. It is reported that follow-up measures for future responses are underway. Once President Yoon receives the 'impeachment resolution document' from the National Assembly, his presidential duties will be immediately suspended, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will assume the role of acting president.

Another presidential aide said, "Since the emergency martial law situation, things have been moving so rapidly that it has been overwhelming. We plan to do our best to assist the acting president and ensure that there are no disruptions in the tasks assigned to us."