Impeachment motion against President fails in Parliament, ruling party boycotts voting
An impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-Yol failed in South Korea’s parliament on Saturday. The motion failed as the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote. The Associated Press reported this information.
Martial law remained in force for six hours
President Suk-Yol had imposed martial law this week, leading the main opposition Democratic Party and some other smaller parties to introduce an impeachment motion against the president. Martial law remained in force for only six hours, as a vote was held in the National Assembly (Parliament) and the president’s order was overturned and his cabinet was forced to remove it.
A day earlier, People’s Power Party chief Han Dong-Hun said on Friday that it was necessary to suspend President Yoon Suk-Yol’s constitutional powers. Dong-Hun’s statement indicated that now his party, which was earlier opposing it, could consider impeaching the president.
First Lady Kyeon Hee also gets relief
Earlier, the parliament today defeated another proposal, which sought to initiate a special investigation against President Yoon Suk-Yol’s wife Kim Kyeon-Hee. The opposition parties had introduced this proposal, as Kyeon-Hee was being accused of corruption and abuse of power. The opposition parties wanted a special investigation commission to be formed to investigate these allegations.
Who is Kim Kyeon Hee
Kyon-Hee’s name was earlier Myong-Sin. But later she changed her name to Kim Kyeon. She is the First Lady of South Korea in 2022. However, she has publicly stated that she wants to be known only as the ‘President’s wife’. Kyeon Hee is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Konawa Contents, an art exhibition company.
Kyon Hee has been in controversies during her husband Suk-Yol’s presidency, especially regarding her educational qualifications. In 2021, she was accused of exaggerating her connection to New York University’s Stern School of Business. She later publicly apologized and said that she would now focus only on her duties as the president’s wife.
Kyon Hee did her PhD from Kookmin University. She was accused of plagiarism in her research paper. However, Kookmin University had cleared her of this charge and said that she had done nothing wrong. But then a group of external experts investigated these allegations and found that some parts of Kyon Hee’s master’s and PhD research papers were plagiarized. The report of this group proved that plagiarism had taken place.
What are the latest allegations against Kyon Hee
There are two main allegations against Kim Kyon, for the investigation of which a proposal presented in the National Assembly demanded the appointment of a special lawyer. The first charge against Kyon Hee is related to stock manipulation of 63.6 billion won (about Rs 500 crore). It is alleged that some accounts in the name of Kim Kyon-hee and her mother were managed by a stock manipulator. The transactions in these accounts violated the Capital Market Act. However, the charges against Kim Kyon-hee were dismissed on the grounds that she was not aware that her accounts were being used for such transactions.
The second charge against her is that she, along with Myung Tae-kyun, who claimed to be a political adviser, manipulated the election results in favor of President Suk-yeol. Myung Tae-kyun is being investigated by the country’s corruption investigation agency.
