North Korea reports South Korea's President Yoon impeachment 2 days after parliamentary vote

by IANS |

Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS) North Korea's state media on Monday reported on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, two days after South Korea's National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon over his botched imposition of martial law earlier this month.

The National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, suspending his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office, Yonhap news agency reported.

"The impeachment motion against the puppet Yoon Suk Yeol was approved in the puppet ROK on Saturday," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, using the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"The puppet Constitutional Court will finally decide the impeachment," it said.

The KCNA reported in detail on the developments leading to the impeachment, including Yoon's public address last week defending the martial law decree as an act of governance and denying insurrection charges against him.

"It sparked off stronger rebuff and resentment of the political and public circles as the puppet shifted the responsibility for foolish emergency martial law declaration onto the opposition parties ... and insulted the struggle of the broad masses for impeachment as a 'sword dance of chaos,'" the KCNA said.

Noting that an initial impeachment motion against Yoon was scrapped as ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers boycotted the move, the state media said the motion was ultimately passed as PPP members became "disillusioned with their party's despicable behavior."

The KCNA also reported that a handful of senior military and police personnel were detained and suspended from their duties amid a martial law probe, calling Yoon "the ringleader of rebellion."

A similar report was carried on the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper for its internal audience.

In 2016, the KCNA had carried a report on the impeachment of then President Park Geun-hye on the day the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against her.

The KCNA reported on Yoon's martial law imposition after remaining silent for about a week.