South Korean parliament impeaches President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea's National Assembly voted on 14 December 2024 to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived emergency martial-law declaration. The motion passed the constitutionally required threshold with support extending beyond the opposition parties.

Impeachment immediately suspended Yoon's presidential powers, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting president under the constitutional succession rules. Removal was not automatic: the Constitutional Court had to decide whether to uphold the motion within its legal process.

The motion alleged violations of the constitution and law through the declaration, deployment of forces and interference with the legislature. Yoon defended his action as a warning and denied insurrection. Parliamentary impeachment is a political-constitutional charge, distinct from any criminal investigation and its higher proof requirements.

This was the second impeachment vote after an initial motion failed when members of Yoon's party largely boycotted it. Large demonstrations both supporting and opposing removal took place peacefully around the vote. Crowd size does not replace the recorded ballot or court review.

The Assembly record establishes suspension and referral. This item does not report Yoon as finally removed on 14 December or assume how judges would rule. It captures the legislature's formal accountability action two weeks after martial law, preserving the separation among accusation, suspension, adjudication and possible criminal liability.