South Korea’s parliament is set to vote again on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived attempt to declare martial law earlier this month.
The country’s opposition parties plan to hold the vote at 4pm today (7am in the UK) and need two-thirds of the National Assembly to back the motion, meaning at least 200 MPs.
While the opposition commands 192 seats, a vote to impeach the president failed last Saturday when all but one MP from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote.
Since then at least seven PPP MPs have said they would back removing Mr Yoon from office, with party leader Han Dong-hoon urging them to do so.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:55
Why wasn’t the South Korean president impeached?
President’s order ‘hurts peace’
PPP MP Ahn Cheol-soo said on Facebook he would support the motion “for the sake of swift stabilisation of people’s livelihood, economy and diplomacy”.
But PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said the party’s stance is still to oppose the motion, with MPs set to meet early today to discuss how to vote.
The latest impeachment motion alleges that Mr Yoon “committed rebellion that hurts peace” in South Korea “by staging a series of riots”, adding the mobilisation of military and police forces had threatened the National Assembly and the public.
Image: Opposition MPs need at least eight of the ruling PPP’s politicians to back the motion. Pic: AP
After declaring a state of emergency on 3 December, the president sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament to try to impede a vote on the decree.
Martial law only lasted about six hours after parliament voted to block the order and people took to the streets in protest. The president later apologised for the incident.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:05
How six hours of martial law unfolded in South Korea
Yoon vows to ‘fight to the end’
Large demonstrations are also set to take place in Seoul ahead of the vote, marking the latest in a series of protests that have seen tens of thousands calling for the ousting and arrest of the president.
Some K-pop celebrities have said they plan to donate food and drinks for those participating in the rally, while others have used delivery apps to pre-order food and coffee for protesters.
Smaller groups of Mr Yoon’s conservative supporters – still in the thousands – are also expected to join counter-protests in Seoul. They argue the opposition-led impeachment motion is “unconstitutional” and “false propaganda”.
Mr Yoon has meanwhile defied calls to resign and vowed on Thursday to “fight to the end” to stop “forces and criminal groups” he said were “threatening the future of the Republic of Korea”.
He claimed the martial law order was necessary to overcome political deadlock, despite originally saying it was to “eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:21
7 December: Seoul crowds call for president to be arrested
If impeached, Mr Yoon’s presidential powers would be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to restore them or remove him from office.
He has also separately been placed under criminal investigation for alleged insurrection over the martial law declaration.
Authorities have banned him and others – including former defence minister Kim Yong Hyun, under investigation on insurrection charges – from travelling overseas.
Officials said on Wednesday that Mr Kim, the first person arrested over the martial law decree, tried to take his own life while being held in detention. The country’s justice ministry has said he is in a stable condition.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.