South Korea Support for Yoon Hits Record Low Before Key Impeachment Vote
(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating slumped to its lowest level since he took office as he tried to defend his declaration of martial law and push back against efforts to oust him via impeachment.
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The support rate for Yoon dropped to 11% in a weekly tracking poll released Friday by Gallup Korea, down 5% percentage points from last week’s survey. Three-quarters of respondents said the president should be impeached.
The survey was released after South Korea’s opposition bloc filed a second impeachment motion against Yoon on Thursday. The chances of its passage in a vote on Saturday appear higher than in the previous ballot as more lawmakers from Yoon’s own People Power Party have indicated they will support the motion.
“Impeachment is the only way to quickly and securely put an end to this chaos,” opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said as he urged ruling party lawmakers to join efforts to remove Yoon. “History will remember your choice.”
The vote will take place during a plenary session of parliament starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Assembly’s official website. The opposition formally reported the motion to parliament on Friday afternoon, setting the clock ticking on a 72-hour deadline for its staging.
With public anger continuing to simmer over Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law last week, a series of demonstrations are expected around the nation including nearby the National Assembly.
Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to deploy more than 1,000 safety personnel, including police officers, firefighters and paramedics in anticipation of large crowds at rallies across the city, it said in a statement Friday.
Among those who had an unfavorable view of Yoon in the opinion poll, 49% cited his declaration of martial law, making it the biggest factor for his unpopularity. Other reasons cited included the state of the economy and a lack of competence.
The poll had 1,002 respondents across the country and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, Gallup Korea said.
While the political turmoil triggered by Yoon’s declaration rumbles on, investors started to account for the growing likelihood that the impeachment vote will pass on Saturday.
South Korea’s equity benchmark briefly recovered all the losses triggered by the martial law fiasco on Friday before paring gains to finish up 0.5%. The Korean won was about 0.3% lower against the dollar at 1,434.50.
Yoon on Thursday tried to justify his shock declaration and keep supporters on his side as he vowed to fight any case against him. But the numbers appear to moving in the wrong direction for him.
The opposition needs at least eight ruling party votes to secure the 200 votes in parliament to pass the motion. Seven members of Yoon’s party have so far hinted that they would support the impeachment.
As the vote is anonymous, more ruling party members could vote in favor without marking themselves as disloyal. Part of the success of last week’s blocking of the motion was a boycott by the ruling party that left anyone breaking ranks easily identifiable.
A successful motion would result in an immediate suspension of duties for Yoon and a Constitutional Court case lasting up to 180 days. If the court rules against the president, he would be forced out of office, triggering a presidential election within 60 days.
--With assistance from Seyoon Kim, Yasufumi Saito, Hooyeon Kim, Youkyung Lee and Jaehyun Eom.
(Updated with details throughout.)
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