(LEAD) 6th lawmaker of ruling party says to vote for Yoon’s impeachment
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By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) — A seventh lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Thursday she would vote in favor of a parliamentary motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law bid last week.
The move by Rep. Han Zee-a came as the main opposition Democratic Party is set to introduce a new motion for Yoon’s impeachment over his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, after a motion to impeach him was scrapped last Saturday as most PPP lawmakers boycotted a vote.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass an impeachment motion against Yoon, which would need support from at least eight PPP lawmakers. The new impeachment vote is expected to take place Saturday.
This file photo, taken Aug. 5, 2024, shows Rep. Han Zee-a of the ruling People Power Party attending a meeting of her party’s lawmakers at the National Assembly in western Seoul. (Yonhap)
“The president’s future should not be decided by himself but by the people,” Han wrote on her Facebook page. “(I) will set things right by surely taking part in the vote this Saturday.”
Han’s announcement came hours after Yoon, in a surprise public address, defended his short-lived martial law declaration as an act of governance and denied insurrection charges facing him.
Han, who also serves as a PPP spokesperson, joins six other lawmakers of her party who have publicly voiced support for Yoon’s impeachment — Reps. Cho Kyoung-tae, Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Sang-wook, Kim Yea-ji, Kim Jae-sub and Jin Jong-oh.
Jin also announced support for Yoon’s impeachment earlier in the day.
“I will do my best so that the People Power Party overcomes the current situation and recovers the people’s trust,” Jin said at the National Assembly.
Rep. Jin Jong-oh of the ruling People Power Party speaks in a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Dec. 12, 2024. (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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