South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized on Saturday for his short-lived declaration of martial law earlier this week, as he now prepares for a parliamentary vote on whether to impeach him.
Yoon said in a televised address on Saturday morning that he will avoid legal or political responsibility for the declaration and vowed not to make another attempt to impose it. The Associated Press. The president, a conservative, said he would leave it to his party to provide a path forward amid the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”
“The declaration of his martial law was born out of my desperation,” Yoon said. “But over the course of the implementation it caused fear and discomfort among the public. I think it is very unfortunate and I sincerely apologize to the people who must have been very shocked.”
In his martial law statement on Tuesday, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” blocking state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and anti-state forces.”
SOUTH Korea’s president faces an impeachment vote over martial law this weekend, lawmakers say
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, December 7, 2024. (AP)
A vote in the National Assembly on an opposition-led motion to oust Yoon is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The opposition parties that jointly filed the impeachment motion hold 192 of the 300 seats in parliament, meaning they need at least eight more votes from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party to secure the two-thirds needed to pass the motion to take.
Yoon’s party called for his resignation on Friday, although the party formally remained opposed to impeachment.
Opposition lawmakers say Yoon’s coup declaration was a self-coup, so they drafted the law impeachment motion on charges of rebellion.
If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the second in command in the South Korean government, would take over his presidential responsibilities.
If the president is impeached, elections to replace him must be held within 60 days.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during an interview at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, January 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
On Tuesday, special forces troops were seen surrounding the parliament building and army helicopters were seen hovering above. The military withdrew after the National Assembly voted unanimously to overturn Yoon’s declaration of martial law, forcing him to withdraw the law just hours after it was issued.
The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades.
Thousands of demonstrators have since protested in the streets of Seoulwaving banners, shouting slogans and singing along to K-pop songs whose lyrics have been changed to demand Yoon’s removal.
Han said he had received information that during the martial law period, Yoon had ordered the country’s counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain key politicians on allegations of “anti-state activities.”
SOUTH Korea’s leader is facing increasing calls to resign or be deposed under martial law
People hold candles during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (AP)
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After Yoon’s televised speech, Han again called for the president’s resignation. Han said the president was not in a state where he could normally perform official duties.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s premature resignation is inevitable,” Han told reporters.
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that Yoon called after the imposition of martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit in detaining key politicians, including Han, the main liberal opposition. Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, said Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
