S Korea's Opposition files 2nd motion to impeach prez Yoon

The opposition requires at least eight ruling party votes to pass the motion and seven members have hinted at backing Yoon impeachment

- Agencies

SEOUL: South Korea's opposition filed a second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, with the likelihood of its passage increasing as more ruling party members indicate they will support it.

The opposition needs to secure 200 votes in parliament to pass the motion. An attempt to impeach Yoon last Saturday failed to reach that threshold after his party boycotted the vote.

The won was largely unchanged after the widely expected filing, down 0.2% against the dollar.

The opposition requires at least eight ruling party votes to pass the motion. So far, seven members have hinted that they would support moves to impeach Yoon.

In another indication that the vote has more chance of success this time round, ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon earlier in the day described impeachment as the only way to remove Yoon.

On Thursday, Han called on PPP members to proceed swiftly to suspend the president. His comments drew some jeers from members in an indication that opinions still diverge within the ruling party. Han is not a lawmaker and can't vote for the impeachment motion.

The president is fighting to stay in his role after his brief declaration of martial law last week stunned the nation and its allies. The shock move sparked political chaos, spooked financial markets and fuelled public outrage.