President Yoon of South Korea was impeached following an unsuccessful attempt to implement martial law.

• On Saturday, a second impeachment vote occurred after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief attempt to implement martial law in December failed.
• According to NBC News reporting, on Thursday, Yoon delivered a defiant national address, vowing to "fight to the end" and "stand firm."
• Lombard Odier's chief investment officer, John Woods, stated that South Korea market observers are shifting their focus from the current crisis to local earnings.

On Saturday, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached following an unsuccessful attempt to implement martial law in December.

If the incumbent president is removed or resigns, a presidential election must occur within 60 days.

According to NBC News, the vote on impeachment was 204 in favor and 85 against, with three abstentions and eight votes deemed invalid. However, the vote did not meet the two-thirds majority required for passage.

After Yoon was suspended from state duties, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president, as reported by NBC News.

After the vote, NBC News reported that he said he would do his best in governing the country, but he may also face impeachment over his alleged role in Yoon's martial law declaration.

On Dec. 7, a previous impeachment motion did not receive the necessary 200 out of 300 votes in favor from South Korea's National Assembly, as allied lawmakers in Yoon's People Power Party left before the vote. However, on Thursday, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon appeared to support a parliamentary vote to impeach Yoon and called for an ethics committee to discuss his departure from the party, according to Yonhap.

After Yoon briefly imposed martial law on Dec. 3, opposition lawmakers initiated a motion to challenge the move. The measure, which was reversed within six hours, raised concerns about the possibility of Yoon attempting to impose martial law nationwide again.

Since taking office in 2022, the president has faced numerous scandals, particularly those involving his wife, businesswoman Kim Keon Hee. As a result, his approval rating dropped to 17.3% following the Dec. 3 incident. Despite calls to resign, opposition lawmaker Yoon remained steadfast and resisted the pressure. The president has since been banned from traveling abroad.

Since the turn of the century, Yoon is not the first South Korean president to face an impeachment vote, as Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye were removed in 2004 and 2016, respectively, due to impeachment proceedings.

On Thursday, Yoon delivered a defiant national address, vowing to "fight to the end" and "stand firm," according to NBC News.

""Are the opposition parties' claims that the declaration of martial law is equivalent to insurrection accurate?" Yoon asked."

Despite initial concerns about the democratic stability of South Korea's fourth-largest economy due to political turmoil, John Woods, chief investment officer at Lombard Odier, stated that observers are now focusing on local earnings.

"According to Woods, there is an end game in sight that will likely occur in the first quarter or so of next year. However, the political backdrop is causing volatility, which must be taken seriously. Nevertheless, the broad value of South Korea as a proxy AI cannot be ignored."

The booming AI industry, tech, and chips are crucial to South Korea's economy, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will grow by 2.5% this year.