South Korea’s lawmakers have intensified scrutiny of President Yoon Suk Yeol, passing a motion on Tuesday to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of sedition. The motion follows Yoon’s controversial declaration of martial law last week, which he later retracted.
During the afternoon plenary session, 210 deputies in the 300-member National Assembly voted in favor of the motion, including 18 members from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP). The remaining votes came from opposition and independent lawmakers. A simple majority was required for the motion to pass. However, the next step—the president’s approval of the appointment—remains uncertain.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol led the uprising by unconstitutionally and unlawfully declaring a state of emergency… and deploying armed military forces to the constitutionally established National Assembly,” said Kim Yong-min, an opposition lawmaker from the Democratic Party, in his motion.
The president faces increasing pressure from three investigative agencies—the prosecutor’s office, the police, and the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO)—all vying to lead the investigation. On Monday, prosecutors officially named Yoon a suspect in the sedition case, just a day after the arrest of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. The CIO has also requested a travel ban on Yoon, which the Justice Ministry has approved.
If appointed, the special counsel would assume control of the investigation, requiring all agencies to cease their probes and transfer relevant documents. The process could face delays, as the president himself must finalize the appointment—a step that could provoke further controversy and potential obstruction.
The motion in parliament was bolstered by a petition demanding Yoon’s dismissal and a special counsel investigation. The petition garnered over 300,000 signatures in just days, far exceeding the required 50,000 within a month.
While Yoon narrowly avoided impeachment last Saturday due to a PPP boycott in the National Assembly, party leader Han Dong-hoon vowed to pursue the president’s immediate removal.
