South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol in an attempt at martial law

South Korean lawmakers have voted to censure President Yoon Suk Yeol over his misguided attempts to impose martial law, sparking mass protests across the country.

204 MPs have backed the proposal, including those from Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) – although the decision still needs to be confirmed by the constitutional court.

After days of public pressure the PPP decided to let its MPs vote, after the election attempt to criticize Yoon last week failed when its lawyers boycotted the trial.

Thousands of anti-Yoon protesters celebrated outside the National Assembly on Saturday evening after the impeachment motion was passed, with the crowd chanting as fireworks were set off.

“To the people, we hope that the end of the year will be a little more exciting now, and all your canceled year-end celebrations will be reinstated,” said National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, as he announced the result.

“The future of the Republic of Korea and our hope is in the hands of the people, our hope is strong,” said Woo, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party.

There has been strong public support for Yoon’s impeachment – a recent poll found a third of South Koreans wanted to see him go.

The constitutional court now has 180 days to decide whether Yoon should be removed from office or reinstated. If you control the impeachment, the election of the next president must be called within 60 days.

Yoon was suspended when Prime Minister Han Duck-soo took over as acting president.

However, Han and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who will succeed the president, are both involved in an ongoing police investigation into last week’s events.

In a statement following the vote, Yoon said he is “stopping my journey for a while” but “will never give up”.

“I will take your criticism, praise, and support to my heart and do my best for the country until the end,” he said.

Outside the National Assembly, where tens of thousands of protesters gathered throughout the day despite the freezing cold, many spoke of their determination to see Yoon leave office permanently.

“I am very happy that the bill has been passed… At the same time, the battle is not over,” nurse Sim Hee-seon told the BBC as she wiped away tears.

“We will have to wait until the court’s decision is finalized so that his case can be concluded. We will continue to watch.”

Two women dressed in Rudolph costumes held signs that read: “[It will be] it’s only a good Christmas if Yoon Seok Yul disappears”.

Across town at the pro-Yoon rally in Gwanghwamun Square, it was a different story. His followers were silent after hearing the news of the vote. Some people spoke profanity before leaving the scene.

The success of the vote depended on the support of the PPP, as the opposition lawyers who introduced the proposal needed only eight others to join them. Last Saturday, when the opposition tried to impeach Yoon for the first time, it failed by a few votes as the PPP planned to walk out.

On Saturday, the party held a marathon meeting that started at 10 am and dragged on until minutes before voting began, as PPP lawmakers struggled to reach a consensus on the party’s position.

In the end, the party agreed to participate and allowed its representatives to vote according to their conscience. It seems that at least 12 of them fell to the ground. Another 85 voted against.

South Korea has faced nearly two weeks of chaos and uncertainty since Yoon attempted a temporary martial law last Tuesday.

Yoon had cited threats from “anti-state militias” and North Korea. But it soon became clear that his move was motivated by his domestic political problems, not external threats.

Hours later he revoked the order after 190 MPs voted it down, many of them climbing fences and breaking barriers to enter the voting booth.

He later apologized. On Thursday, he defended his action saying he did it to protect the country’s democracy and vowed to “continue to fight until the end”.

That speech galvanized people, and the president’s approval rating dropped to a record low of 11%, according to a Gallup Korea poll.

The impeachment of the president is not an unauthorized area in South Korea, which last removed former president Park Geun-hye through the process in 2016.

Ironically, Yoon – a former prosecutor – had led the investigation against Park, which eventually led to his indictment.

Additional reporting by Leehyun Choi, Jake Kwon and Yuna Ku in Seoul