South Koreas opposition parties submit a motion to impeach President Yoon over sudden martial law

South Korea’s opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing pressure to leave office hours after he ended a short-lived martial law that prompted troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers voted to lift it.Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament for the motion and then the backing of at least six Constitutional Court justices.The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.Yoon’s senior advisers and secretaries offered to resign collectively and his Cabinet members, including Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, were also facing calls to step down, as the nation struggled to make sense of what appeared to be a poorly-thought-out stunt.In the capital, tourists and residents walked around, traffic and construction were heard, and other than crowds of police holding shields, it seemed like a normal sunny, cold December morning.On Tuesday night, Yoon abruptly imposed the emergency martial law, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces after he struggled to push forward his agenda in the opposition-dominated parliament.

But his martial law was effective for only about six hours, as the National Assembly voted to overrule the president.The declaration was formally lifted around 4:30 a.m.

during a Cabinet meeting.The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the 300-seat parliament, said Wednesday that its lawmakers decided to call on Yoon to quit immediately or they would take steps to impeach him.“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration was a clear violation of the constitution.It didn’t abide by any requirements to declare it,” the Democratic Party said in a statement.

“His martial law declaration was originally invalid and a grave violation of the constitution.It was a grave act of rebellion and provides perfect grounds for his impeac...