South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol on Saturday apologized for briefly imposing martial law earlier in the week as parliament prepared for a vote on impeachment.
In a televised address Saturday morning, Yin reportedly said he intended to avoid legal or political responsibility for the declaration and vowed not to try to reimpose it. Associated Press. The conservative president said he would leave it to his party to chart a path forward amid the country's political turmoil, “including issues related to my term in office.”
Yun said, “The declaration of martial law was out of desperation on my part.'' “However, in implementing this, we have caused anxiety and inconvenience to the people of Japan. We are very sorry, and we sincerely apologize to the people who must have suffered a great shock.”
In his declaration of martial law on Tuesday, Yun called Congress a “den of criminals” interfering with national affairs and promised to eliminate “shameless North Korean believers and anti-national forces.”
Lawmakers announce they will vote to impeach South Korea's president this weekend over martial law
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol speaks at the presidential palace in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, December 7, 2024. (AP)
A vote in the National Assembly on the opposition-led impeachment motion against Yoon is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The opposition party that co-introduced the impeachment bill holds 192 of the 300 seats in Congress, so it would take at least eight votes from Yun's conservative party, the People's Power, to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the impeachment bill. Additional votes will be required.
Yun's party on Friday called for his removal from office, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment.
Opposition members claim that Yun's declaration of martial law was a self-coup, and claim that he drafted an impeachment motion on charges of sedition.
If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who is the second-in-command of the South Korean government, will take over the presidential position.
If the president is removed from office, an election for his successor must be held within 60 days.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol speaks during an interview at the presidential palace in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, January 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin Man)
Special forces surrounded the Capitol on Tuesday, and military helicopters were seen hovering overhead. The military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to repeal Yun's martial law, forcing it to be lifted just hours after it was imposed.
It was the first time martial law had been declared in South Korea in more than 40 years.
Since then, thousands of demonstrators have been protesting on the streets of Seoul, waving banners, shouting slogans and singing K-pop songs with altered lyrics to demand Yoon's removal. are.
Han said he received information that during the period of martial law, Yun ordered the defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain key politicians based on accusations of “anti-national activities.”
South Korean leader faces growing calls for impeachment, resignation or martial law
People hold candles during a candle-lighting vigil for South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (AP)
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After Yun's televised speech, Han again called for the president's resignation. Han said that the president is not in a condition to carry out normal official duties.
“President Yoon Seok-yeol's early resignation is inevitable,” Han told reporters.
Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door conference that he received a phone call from Yoon after martial law was imposed, and that he was in charge of the National Defense Department's decision to detain key politicians, including Han, from the main liberal opposition party. He said he had ordered the counterintelligence unit to assist. According to Kim Byung-ki, one of the members who attended the meeting, Democratic Party of Japan representative Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik were also present.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
