The motion, submitted jointly by the main liberal opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.
Members of main opposition Democratic Party stage a rally against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. that drew heavily armed troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers climbed walls to reenter the building and unanimously voted to lift his order.
In his speech announcing the abrupt order Tuesday night, Yoon vowed to eliminate "anti-state" forces and continued to criticize the Democratic Party's attempts to impeach key government officials and senior prosecutors. But martial law lasted only about six hours, as the National Assembly voted to overrule Yoon before his Cabinet formally lifted it around 4:30 a.m.
Cho Jinman, a professor at Seoul's Duksung Women's University, said it's highly likely that lawmakers will back Yoon's impeachment motion given that some from the ruling party already voted down his edict. Yoon's martial law declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, harkened to South Korea's past military-backed governments when authorities occasionally proclaimed martial law and other decrees that allowed them to station combat soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on streets or at public places like schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.
Under South Korea's constitution, the president can declare martial law during "wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states" that require the use of military force to restrict the freedom of press, assembly and other rights to maintain order. Many observers question whether South Korea is currently in such a state.
Some experts say Yoon clearly violated the constitution in how he imposed martial law. While martial law allows "special measures" to restrict individual freedoms and the authority of agencies and courts, the constitution does not permit the functions of parliament to be restricted.
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