section_path: Aftermath/Impeachment, arrest, and indictment/Impeachment from National Assembly
section_name: Impeachment from National Assembly
paragraph_text: Impeachment from National Assembly
  
  On 4 December, 190 legislators across six opposition parties submitted a motion for impeachment, intending to discuss the bill the following day; the DPK later planned a vote on 7 December. At a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and PPP party leader Han Dong-hoon, Yoon stated that he would not resign and said there was "no wrongdoing" in his declaration, adding that he had done so as a "warning" to the opposition and to prevent the DPK's "reckless impeachment actions". Yoon also defended plans to arrest Han Dong-hoon for going to the National Assembly. On 5 December, the PPP announced they would oppose impeachment, following an emergency meeting the previous evening. However, at an emergency meeting on 6 December, Han Dong-hoon said it was necessary to "promptly suspend from his duties to protect the Republic of Korea", citing that Yoon ordered the arrest and detention of key politicians during martial law, including Han himself. That same day, Cho Kyoung-tae voiced his support for Yoon's impeachment, becoming the first MP from the PPP to do so.
  
  During an investigation by the National Assembly on 5 December, Army Chief Park An-su said he had been handed the text of the martial law notice only on the night of its declaration and was unaware of soldiers being deployed to the Assembly. Deputy Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho said he had only learned about the declaration on the news and that Kim Yong-hyun ordered soldiers to enter the Assembly and prevent lawmakers from gathering. He also apologized for failing to prevent the troop deployment, saying that he opposed it. Separately, the National Police Agency announced that Yoon was under investigation for insurrection following a complaint from the opposition. Park also submitted his resignation to Yoon, which was rejected. On 6 December, Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-guen said he had ordered soldiers present at the Assembly on 3 December not to enter the session hall and ruled out the provision of live ammunition and harm against civilians. He also said that he would not follow such orders in the event of martial law being declared again. Later that day, the Defense Ministry suspended Kwak, Yeo In-hyung and Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo for their involvement in martial law. They, along with Park An-su, were also subjected to a ban on overseas travel. Hong Jang-won, the deputy director of the NIS, also said that he was ordered by Yoon to arrest politicians during martial law during a series of phone calls. However this was denied by Director Cho Tae-yong, who said the NIS had no such powers. The National Archives of Korea issued notices to the Presidential Office, the Defense Ministry and other relevant agencies for the preservation of documents, video footage and other records relating to the declaration of martial law amid concerns over their discarding. The Presidential Office later said it did not possess the detailed minutes of the cabinet meeting that preceded the declaration.
  
  On 7 December, Yoon apologized for declaring martial law, describing it as a product of desperation as the head of state and pledging that there would not be a second martial law declaration. He also pledged to entrust measures related to his term in office to the PPP. Lee Jae-myung called the apology "disappointing" and insisted on Yoon's resignation or impeachment. He also criticized Yoon's power-sharing arrangement with the PPP as "destroying the constitutional order", while DPK Floor Leader Park Chan-dae called the arrangement a "second coup". Later that day, the impeachment vote failed after only 195 lawmakers present of the 200 needed to impeach attended following a boycott by all but three MPs from the PPP. The decision led to massive public anger against the PPP, with a petition filed at the National Assembly website calling for the PPP's dissolution obtaining more than 171,000 supporters, exceeding the 50,000 needed to have the proposal submitted to the standing committee.
  
  Following the vote, Han Dong-hoon said that the PPP would continue to "push for the president's orderly retreat to minimize chaos", and said Yoon would be "effectively stripped of his duties until he retreats" while Prime Minister Han Duck-soo managed state affairs "in consultation with the party"; a party special task force proposed that Yoon leave office in February or March 2025 and elections to replace him held in April or May. The DPK said that it would continue to file impeachment motions against Yoon on a weekly basis in response. That same day, the DPK filed an impeachment motion against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min for mishandling the martial law situation. Facing mounting pressure, Lee resigned on 8 December.
  
  On 8 December, Han Dong-hoon said that the PPP had "effectively obtained promise to step down" in exchange for the party blocking his impeachment, and said Yoon would "not interfere in state affairs, including foreign affairs", even before his "orderly early resignation".
  
  On 12 December, Yoon issued a statement vowing to "fight to the end", resisting the push for his resignation and claiming the martial law declaration was a legitimate "act of governance" against "forces and criminal groups that have been responsible for paralysing the country's government". Yoon accused the opposition of disrupting the constitution instead through obstructionism, arguing "The opposition parties are currently dancing a frenzied sword dance, saying that the declaration of emergency martial law was a crime of insurrection, but is that really so? Who are the forces currently paralyzing the government and disrupting the constitution of Korea?", while further claiming that the opposition majority National Assembly had taken North Korea's side in disputes, and that it was "a monster that destroys the constitutional order of liberal democracy".
  
  Following Yoon's statement, Han Dong-hoon called for Yoon's impeachment and convened an ethics committee to discuss Yoon's expulsion from the PPP. Later that day, the DPK filed its second motion to impeach Yoon, and the National Assembly passed impeachment motions against Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and KNP Commissioner Cho Ji-ho. By the end of the same day, seven PPP lawmakers, four PPP metropolitan and provincial executives, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, South Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Tae-heum, North Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Young-hwan, and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, publicly declared their support for Yoon's impeachment.
  
  On 14 December, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, with 204 lawmakers, including 12 from the PPP, supporting impeachment. Yoon's presidential powers were suspended immediately upon the delivery of the impeachment resolution to the Presidential Office. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepped in as acting president, and the impeachment motion proceeded to the Constitutional Court.
  
  On 27 December, 192 MPs in the National Assembly voted to impeach Han Duck-soo for blocking investigations against Yoon and his wife, colluding with Yoon on martial law and blocking the appointment of justices to fill vacancies in the Constitutional Court. Despite being boycotted by the PPP, Han's impeachment was made possible with a simple majority because Han was Prime Minister rather than the elected president, as announced by National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik. This made Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok the new acting president. On 21 March 2025, the DPK and four other opposition parties submitted a motion in the National Assembly to impeach Choi, citing charges that included abetting Yoon's martial law declaration.
  
  On 24 March 2025, the Constitutional Court overturned Han's impeachment, reinstating him as acting president. On 1 May, Choi resigned minutes before the National Assembly was set to vote on his impeachment, prompting the suspension of the proceedings.