South Korea&rsquo;s main Opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Saturday welcomed the National Assembly&rsquo;s decision to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law, calling it a victory for the people.
DP floor leader Park Chan-dae made the remark as he met reporters after the vote, voicing appreciation for all those who supported Yoon&rsquo;s impeachment.
&ldquo;We made a historic victory for democracy because of all who gathered in front of the National Assembly and passionately cried out for the protection of the Constitution and democracy,&rdquo; he said.
He stressed that Yoon&rsquo;s impeachment is &lsquo;only the first step&rsquo; toward solving the aftermath of his December 3 martial law declaration, and vowed to push for a thorough investigation into Yoon and other &lsquo;accomplices of the insurrection.&rsquo;
He also said the party will make every effort to swiftly form a special counsel to investigate Yoon.
South Korea&rsquo;s National Assembly voted on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law.
Yoon will be suspended from his duties as soon as the impeachment resolution is delivered to his office, while Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as Acting President, reports Yonhap news agency.
An impeachment motion against Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, with all 300 lawmakers casting their ballots.
Yoon Suk Yeol&rsquo;s contentious martial law decree, the first issued in over four decades, was in effect for merely six hours but has incited significant political turmoil, disrupted diplomatic engagements, and unsettled financial markets.
Yoon was compelled to rescind the decree following a unanimous vote by the South Korean Parliament to annul it. In the aftermath of the martial law declaration, Yoon stationed hundreds of troops and police officers at the Parliament in an effort to obstruct the vote on the decree; however, they retreated once the Parliament rejected it.
In a speech delivered on Thursday, Yoon refuted allegations of rebellion, justifying his martial law declaration as a necessary governance measure. The conservative president asserted that his actions were intended to issue a warning to the liberal Opposition Democratic Party, which he characterised as &lsquo;a monster&rsquo; and &lsquo;anti-state forces.&rsquo;
&ldquo;I will fight to the end to prevent the forces and criminal groups that have been responsible for paralyzing the country&rsquo;s government and disrupting the nation&rsquo;s constitutional order from threatening the future of the Republic of Korea,&rdquo; Yoon stated.
In a reaction, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung condemned Yoon&rsquo;s remarks as a &lsquo;mad declaration of war&rsquo; against the South Korean populace.
Yoon is now the second president to confront impeachment proceedings. Following the approval of the motion, the Constitutional court will assess whether to reinstate Yoon or to remove him permanently. He follows in the footsteps of Park Geun-hye, who was dismissed in 2017.
Meanwhile, prosecutors arrested Lt Gen Yeo In-hyung, South Korea<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">&rsquo;s Chief of the Defence Counterintelligence Command, on charges including insurrection on Saturday as part of an investigation into President Yoon&rsquo;s declaration of martial law last week. 
A prosecution investigation team handling the case arrested Yeo immediately after a military court issued an arrest warrant for him, making him the second key figure apprehended by the team following former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Yeo is also the first sitting military serviceman arrested in the martial law investigation, Yonhap news agency reported.
He is suspected of sending troops of his unit to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission after martial law was imposed on December 3. The order was lifted hours later after the Assembly voted to reject it.
Charges against him also include ordering the arrest of 14 people, including the leaders of the ruling and main Opposition parties, and the procurement of computer servers at the election commission.
The military court reportedly concluded that the charges facing Yeo were grave and that he was a flight risk when issuing the warrant.
Yeo&rsquo;s lawyer, Park Yong-seok, told reporters that the commander &ldquo;plans to explain and refute (the charges) in detail in the future investigation or trial.&rdquo;
Prosecution investigations have found that Yeo had ordered his troops to arrest Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and others without a warrant and detain them inside a military bunker at the Capital Defence Command.
Yeo&rsquo;s arrest is expected to add momentum to the prosecution&rsquo;s investigation into the martial law declaration, of which the team suspects Yoon had been the ringleader.
Meanwhile, on Friday, prosecutors arrested Lt Gen Lee Jin-woo, the chief of South Korea's Capital Defence Command, as part of their ongoing investigation into his alleged involvement in President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law.
&nbsp;

South Korea’s Chief of the Defence Counterintelligence Command Lt Gen Yeo In-hyung

Claims it’s a ‘historic victory for people, democracy’; top defence boss arrested

Oppn Hails Yoon’s Impeachment Motion

Claims it’s a ‘historic victory for people, democracy’; top defence boss arrested

December 14, 2024 | 17:48 IST