South Korean opposition parties submit motion to impeach president

South Korea's opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol, who declared an emergency martial law Tuesday night and lifted it early Wednesday after the National Assembly voted against it.

A total of 191 lawmakers from the main liberal opposition Democratic Party and five other minor opposition parties proposed the motion to oust Yoon from office.

The opposition parties planned to report the motion to the plenary session on Thursday and vote on it between Friday and Saturday, according to multiple media outlets.

By law, the 300-member unicameral parliament is required to cast a secret vote on the impeachment motion within 72 hours after the motion is suggested to the plenary session.

The constitution stipulates that the impeachment motion must be initiated by a majority of lawmakers and approved by at least two-thirds of National Assembly legislators.

If the motion is passed through the parliament with the vote in favor of the impeachment from over 200 lawmakers, the constitutional court will deliberate it for up to 180 days, during which Yoon will be suspended.