Prolonged Yoon Impeachment Vote... Woo Won-sik Says "Will Wait," May Extend Past Midnight

by Na Juseok

by Kong Byeongseon

Published 07 Dec.2024 18:57(KST)

Updated 07 Dec.2024 20:24(KST)

The vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking longer than expected. Speaker Woo Won-sik declared on the 7th, "I will wait."

In the National Assembly plenary session, as the vote on President Yoon's impeachment motion proceeds, Democratic Party members are refraining from voting and waiting in order to encourage additional votes from People Power Party members.

Yonhap News

Speaker Woo said at 6:30 p.m., "There are still 52 members here (in the plenary hall) who have not voted yet." In response, some Democratic Party members said, "We will not vote," aiming to delay the conclusion of the voting as much as possible. Speaker Woo then said, "I will wait."

During the ongoing vote, Speaker Woo stated, "We must create a resilience of democracy unprecedented worldwide," and added, "As patriots and members of the National Assembly representing the people of the Republic of Korea, it is our duty to return and vote."

At the plenary session, there were 300 members present during the passage of the Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act, but People Power Party members, except for Assemblyman Ahn Cheol-soo, left their seats. Afterwards, Assemblyman Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party, through a proposal explanation, mentioned the necessity of impeaching President Yoon and called out the names of People Power Party members one by one, requesting them to participate in the vote.

When the vote began, Assemblyman Ahn Cheol-soo cast his vote. Subsequently, Assemblywoman Kim Ye-ji of the People Power Party participated in the vote, and the members present in the plenary hall welcomed this with applause. Later, Assemblyman Kim Sang-wook also came to the plenary hall and voted.

In political circles, considering that the impeachment motion must be processed within 72 hours after being reported, there is speculation that the process may continue past midnight.