South Korea’s bid to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol fails after ruling party boycotts vote – as it happened

The time in Seoul is 12.20am. Here is a round-up of the day’s events:

• A motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated declaration of martial law this week has failed after members of his party boycotted the vote. The walkout meant the national assembly did not have the required number of votes – 200 – to begin the process of forcing out the embattled Yoon. “With a total of 195 votes, the number of members who voted did not reach the required two-thirds majority of the total members,” the national assembly speaker, Woo Won-shik, said. “Therefore, I declare that the vote on this matter is not valid.”

• South Korea’s ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon said on Saturday the party and president Yoon Suk Yeol will work together to seek an orderly path for Yoon to leave office, as he has effectively agreed to the plan.

• South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party will propose a new impeachment bill against president Yoon Suk Yeol on 11 December, which will be put on vote on 14 December, local Yonhap News is reporting. But Yoon’s People Power Party said it would find a “more orderly, responsible” way to resolve the crisis than impeachment of the president.

• As the plenary session got under way in South Korea’s national assembly, some members of the ruling People Power Party walked out of chamber after voting on the special counsel appointment in the first lady’s case. It appears they are boycotting the upcoming impeachment vote, BBC News reports. Some opposition MPs shouted at the ruling party lawmakers: “Traitors, go back in”.

• One of the first PPP lawmakers to publicly say he would support the motion has been speaking to BBC Korean about why he changed his mind. But today, he joined his ruling party colleagues in walking out of the parliament chamber ahead of the vote. “I was determined to agree to the impeachment bill until yesterday, because there was no word from the president’s office nor public apology for martial law or any follow-up measures,” Yoon told BBC Korean. “However, I heard that he was announcing an apology to the public today.”

• The special counsel bill on the first lady did not pass and appeared to have failed by just two votes. It had 198 votes in favour but needed 200 to pass, BBC News reports. The bill had addressed her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, as well as alleged interference in election nominations through a power broker.

That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the South Korea crisis live blog. Thanks for following along.

South Korea’s ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon said on Saturday the party and president Yoon Suk Yeol will work together to seek an orderly path for Yoon to leave office, as he has effectively agreed to the plan.

South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party will propose a new impeachment bill against President Yoon Suk Yeol on 11 December, which will be put on vote on 14 December, local Yonhap News is reporting.

The sabotaging of the impeachment vote will add to uncertainty over Yoon’s future less than three years into his five-year single term.

His declaration of martial law, which lasted six hours before it was overturned by MPs in the early hours of Wednesday, has drawn widespread condemnation across the South Korean political spectrum and triggered mass protests in Seoul and other cities.

Demonstrators booed, and some wept in frustration, as the ruling party lawmakers walked out of the chamber today.

“Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted today, I am neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it eventually,” said Jo Ah-gyeong, who was among the protesters.

Given their failure to start the legislative and legal process that could have led to the end of Yoon’s presidency, opposition parties could introduce a second impeachment motion, possibly as early as Wednesday.

There is speculation that PPP lawmakers wanted to avoid the drama of impeachment – a move that could hand the political advantage to the main opposition Democratic party when the country elects a new president – and try instead to arrange a more orderly exit.

Outside the assembly, the festive mood has soured upon hearing the news of the failed impeachment.

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party said it would not give up its attempt to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol after losing a parliamentary vote late on Saturday.

But Yoon’s People Power Party said it would find a “more orderly, responsible” way to resolve the crisis than impeachment of the president.

A motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated declaration of martial law this week has failed after members of his party boycotted the vote.

The walkout meant the national assembly did not have the required number of votes – 200 – to begin the process of forcing out the embattled Yoon.

“With a total of 195 votes, the number of members who voted did not reach the required two-thirds majority of the total members,” the national assembly speaker, Woo Won-shik, said. “Therefore, I declare that the vote on this matter is not valid.”

• As the plenary session got under way in South Korea’s national assembly, some members of the ruling People Power Party walked out of chamber after voting on the special counsel appointment in the first lady’s case. It appears they are boycotting the upcoming impeachment vote, BBC News reports. Some opposition MPs shouted at the ruling party lawmakers: “Traitors, go back in”.

• Three ruling PPP lawmakers have returned to the chamber to vote, according to local media reports. One of them, Kim Sang-wook, told reporters he had voted against the impeachment bill, in line with his party’s official stance.

• One of the first PPP lawmakers to publicly say he would support the motion has been speaking to BBC Korean about why he changed his mind. But today, he joined his ruling party colleagues in walking out of the parliament chamber ahead of the vote. “I was determined to agree to the impeachment bill until yesterday, because there was no word from the president’s office nor public apology for martial law or any follow-up measures,” Yoon told BBC Korean. “However, I heard that he was announcing an apology to the public today.”

• The special counsel bill on the first lady has not passed and appears to have failed by just two votes. It had 198 votes in favour but needed 200 to pass, BBC News reports. The bill had addressed her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, as well as alleged interference in election nominations through a power broker.

Three ruling PPP lawmakers have returned to the chamber to vote, according to local media reports.

One of them, Kim Sang-wook, told reporters he had voted against the impeachment bill, in line with his party’s official stance.

He said he returned because he believed it was important to vote on the motion.

In the now increasingly unlikely event that the impeachment vote is passed today, Yoon Suk Yeol would be immediately suspended and replaced as president by the prime minister, Han Duck-soo.

It would then be left to the Constitutional court to decide whether to uphold the national assembly’s vote. At least six of the court’s nine justices would have to approve impeachment for it to succeed.

Since the court currently has three vacancies after recent retirements, the main opposition Democratic party is expected to quickly exercise its right to recommend two of the three new justices.

If the court eventually approves impeachment, South Koreans would have to elect a new president within 60 days of its ruling.

The more likely scenario, given the chaotic scenes in the national assembly on Saturday, is that opposition parties will regroup and attempt to introduce a second impeachment vote soon, possibly as early as Wednesday.

That means Yoon would survive – for now. But he could come under pressure from members of his People Power party to seize the initiative from the opposition and resign – a move that would spare him the indignity of being forced out of office and, perhaps, contain the damage to his party’s reputation.

Woo Won-shik, the speaker of South Korea’s national assembly, is issuing a strong reprimand to People Power party lawmakers who left the chamber just before the vote to impeach the president, Yoon Suk Yeol.

“The eyes of the South Korean people are on us, and people around the world are watching us too,” said Woo, a member of the opposition Democratic party.

“I am not telling you to vote for or against impeachment, but I implore you to come back and vote, for the sake of the future of the Republic of Korea.”

One of the first PPP lawmakers to publicly say he would support the motion has been speaking to BBC Korean about why he changed his mind.

But today, he joined his ruling party colleagues in walking out of the parliament chamber ahead of the vote.

“I was determined to agree to the impeachment bill until yesterday, because there was no word from the president’s office nor public apology for martial law or any follow-up measures,” Yoon told BBC Korean. “However, I heard that he was announcing an apology to the public today,”

“Most members of the National Assembly acknowledge that the president’s declaration of martial law was an incorrect and wrong action,” he added. “However, there is concern that if impeachment is used as a means to address the president’s wrongdoings, it will lead to an early presidential election.”

Speaker Woo Won-shik, a Democratic party lawmaker, has asked the ruling PPP members who walked out earlier to return to vote on the bill.

“The Republic of Korea is a democracy that’s made of people’s blood and tears,” he said.

“Are you not afraid of being judged by history, by the people, and by the world? Participate in the voting, that’s how you protect our democracy.”

Kim Ye-ji of the PPP has returned to the chamber to vote on the impeachment motion, BBC News reports.

However, with voting on the impeachment now under way, there are still not enough MPs present for it to pass.