STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Lawmakers in South Korea seem ready to try again to impeach their president. Yoon Suk Yeol, as you may recall, declared martial law the other day and failed and then narrowly survived an impeachment effort. But this drama is not over, even though the president remains defiant. NPR's Anthony Kuhn is covering this from Seoul. Hey there, Anthony.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. So when the president says he's going to fight to the end, what does that mean as he defends his declaration of martial law?
KUHN: Well, what he said was that martial law is a legitimate tool of governance, and it's in line with the nation's constitution. Here's how he put it.
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PRESIDENT YOON SUK YEOL: (Speaking Korean).
KUHN: He said, "How can a president's constitutional decision and act of governance, which he made because he believed it was the only way to go, be an insurrection?" So basically, he was doubling down on the arguments he made when he imposed martial law - that opposition politicians are blocking his budgets in parliament, they're paralyzing the work of the government, and they are North Korean sympathizers. Now, legal scholars generally agree that martial law can only be applied when there's a war going on or public order has somewhere broken down, and that was not at all the case. Yoon's critics say that opposition lawmakers were not trying to paralyze the government. They're just providing checks and balances on the president's power, as they're supposed to do in a democracy.
INSKEEP: OK, amazing - he is still defending this failed declaration of martial law. He did survive one impeachment effort, but only by a handful of votes. Now they're going to try again. The lawmakers are going to try again. Are they likely to succeed?
KUHN: Well, last week, they were just a few votes short of the two-thirds majority they needed to pass the bill. But since then, they've gotten more votes. What happened last week was ruling-party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Ruling-party lawmakers are now split. The head of the party says Yoon should be impeached. Yoon loyalists disagree. The opposition says they're going to keep on submitting impeachment motions every week until they win.
INSKEEP: In the United States, you cannot really just arrest a president, but I gather there's an attempt to arrest the president in South Korea on the charge of insurrection. Where does that stand?
KUHN: That's right. You can do that if he's accused of insurrection. Now, insurrection in South Korea means sending the military to interfere with constitutionally mandated bodies like the Election Commission, the parliament - which Yoon did - and to suspend people's rights. So police and prosecutors have been trying to collect evidence. They tried to raid Yoon's offices yesterday, but they were turned away by presidential security. They tried a second time today. And parliament today impeached the chief of national police for being part of the insurrection and impeached the minister of justice for not doing enough to try to stop the insurrection.
INSKEEP: Oh, interesting. Well, if they had the vote to impeach those guys - the votes to impeach those guys, they may well have it for the president, as well. So if Yoon does get impeached or arrested, what happens next?
KUHN: Well, then his presidential duties will be suspended. And if the country's Constitutional Court rules against Yoon, he'll be removed from office, and an election for a new president will have to be held. That could take months. I don't think that's the end of the story for South Korean democracy. Although citizens and institutions mobilized quickly and effectively to thwart this threat of martial law, you know, Yoon's planning and execution of martial law was so inept and ham-fisted. What if, in future, there is a similar ruler who's tougher and has better planning?
INSKEEP: NPR's Anthony Kuhn, as always, with unimpeachable reporting from Seoul, South Korea. Thanks so much.
KUHN: Too kind, Steve.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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