South Korea: Parliament impeaches President Yoon Suk Yeol

"I am deeply frustrated (...) but now I must step aside for a while," Yoon Suk Yeol said in his first words as a former president after parliament voted to impeach him over the crisis that started after declaring martial law nearly two weeks ago.

A total of 204 deputies voted Saturday in favor of Yoon's impeachment, while 85 voted against it. The chamber has a total of 300 seats. Three others abstained, and eight cast invalid votes.

A similar motion failed a week ago, when lawmakers from the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) walked out of the chamber, effectively leaving the proposal without any chance of success.

Park Chan-dae, leader of the Democratic Party, the main opposition party, called the impeachment "a great victory for the people and democracy."

The impeachment will still have to be validated by the Constitutional Court. The court has 180 days to rule, in which time the prime minister, Han Duck-soo (75), will take over as president. With more than three decades of experience in both conservative and liberal governments, the interim president promised to carry out "stable governance."

If the Constitutional Court overturns the impeachment, Yoon will return to office. If approved, the PPP leader will become the second South Korean president to lose office in this way. In addition, a presidential election must be held in two months.

South Korea's turbulent history of presidents also includes one notable exception. In 2004, the Constitutional Court invalidated the removal of President Roh Moo-hyun.

Yoon vows to fight back

On the night of December 3, then-President Yoon surprisingly announced he was invoking martial law and sent the army to the National Assembly to block the parliamentarians, who finally managed to meet and overturn the president's measure.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets and many of them went to Parliament. During Saturday's vote, police reported that around 200,000 people gathered around the legislative palace to await the result.

In a televised speech following the vote that ousted him, Yoon called for an end to the “politics of excess and confrontation.” However, he made it clear that he would defend his position. In addition to the potential of permanent impeachment, he now faces low approval ratings and investigations that could lead to court cases.