[LIVE] Impeachment vote begins; result may come around 4 p.m.

Opposition lawmakers pledge to resign if motion voted down

By Kim Hyo-jin

Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties will vote today on impeaching President Park Geun-hye over corruption and bribery allegations surrounding her.

If the impeachment motion passes, Park will be immediately suspended from office. The Constitutional Court will then decide on Park's fate, which could take up to six months.

The motion will be voted on at a plenary National Assembly session, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

If passed, Park will be the second president to be impeached by the legislature in South Korean history following ex-President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004, although the Constitutional Court ruled in his favor.

Uncertainty remains on how many lawmakers will vote for the impeachment but the motion has a high chance of being passed, with some 40 anti-Park lawmakers in the ruling Saenuri Party promised their support.

A successful passage requires a minimum 28 votes from the ruling party, providing 172 opposition and independent lawmakers unanimously vote in favor of the motion. Impeachment requires the approval of two-thirds of the 300-member Assembly.

Opposition parties made last-ditch attempts Thursday to encourage pro-impeachment sentiment in the legislature.

A total of 159 lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and minor opposition People's Party vowed to resign en masse if the motion is voted down.

They made it their parties' official position and submitted letters of resignation to their floor leaders which will be delivered to National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun if the impeachment falls through.

"Impeachment is the only way to normalize state affairs. It will be the start of cleaning out the ills of society and rewriting history," DPK Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae said during a general meeting.

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"We are at a critical moment in history, equivalent to the April 19 pro-democracy uprising in 1960, the Gwangju Uprising in May 1980 and the pro-democracy movement in June 1987. We will channel our focus solely onto the public's call and our historic mission."

On Thursday, the opposition made a final decision to table the impeachment motion as it is without reaching a compromise with ruling party members.

Some anti-Park Saenuri Party lawmakers called for the opposition to delete the President's "seven missing hours" on the day of the Sewol ferry sinking as one of the grounds for her impeachment, Wednesday. They expressed concern that this could be a hurdle to securing an overwhelming number of votes in favor due to remaining doubts on its necessity among ruling party lawmakers.

DPK floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho said, "There is no reason to consider the proposal as they didn't clarify their intention to co-sponsor the impeachment motion."

The motion, signed by 171 opposition and independent lawmakers, was submitted to the Assembly last week while enormous public fury was pouring out at President Park who has for weeks refused to resign over the corruption scandal involving her and her friend Choi Soon-sil.

The prosecution identified Park as an accomplice and a criminal suspect in its indictment of Choi and former presidential aides in late November. Choi was charged with using her ties to the President for financial gain and to interfere with state affairs.

The opposition parties included these allegations as reasons for impeachment in the motion, but added a dereliction of duty charge because of her unknown whereabouts for seven hours on April 16, 2014, the day of the ferry sinking, which claimed more than 300 lives, many of whom were schoolchildren.

Despite the opposition's rejection, anti-Park lawmakers reaffirmed their support for the impeachment vote.

"We will be undeterred in our determination," Rep. Hwang Young-cheul, a spokesman for the group, said. "I'm sure the motion will be passed."

Noting 35 anti-Park lawmakers are sure to support the motion, he expected the total number of votes can even reach 220. Rep. Chang Je-won, another Park dissenter, agreed, saying, "I believe it can easily exceed 200."

Meanwhile, Park loyalists continued to protest the motion, urging fellow lawmakers to reconsider the shortening of Park's term instead of impeaching her.

"It's not too late to give a second thought to Park resigning in April and a presidential election in June," Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, a staunch ally of the President, said during a party meeting. "It's highly perplexing that the Assembly is seeking to suspend Park from her duties based on some people's statements and media reports."

With tensions rising in the Assembly, Cheong Wa Dae remained silent without releasing any statement on the upcoming vote.

Park said in a meeting with ruling party leaders Tuesday that she would stay "calm and composed" waiting for the next process if the impeachment motion is passed. This was interpreted as Park ruling out her voluntary resignation.