South Korea's embattled conservative party, led by President Yoon Seok-yeol, faces the challenge of how to distance itself from its unpopular leader without handing major victories to his political opponents.
For now, they are trying to block Mr. Yun's impeachment in a vote expected in the next few days over the martial law imposed earlier this week, and at the same time force him to leave the People's Power Party (PPP). By asking for it, we are trying to make it happen.
Party leader Han Dong-hoon tried to thread that needle in a meeting with colleagues on Thursday, condemning Mr. Yoon's “unconstitutional martial law,” but also saying, “As a conservative politician, my supporters… We also need to think about the heart.” ”
“As the leader of the party, I will work hard to prevent the impeachment bill from being passed in order to prevent damage to the people and supporters due to unexpected chaos,'' Han said.
For the impeachment motion to pass, the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, which won a landslide in April's parliamentary elections and is in control of Congress, needs only eight of its 108 members to switch sides and vote for Yoon's removal from office. . Local newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported on Friday that at least five party members have not yet been decided.
For many conservative members of Congress, it makes more sense to position themselves to win future elections than to take a potentially big hit with early voting next year. Even before the martial law debacle, Mr. Yoon was unpopular with an approval rating of 17%, but voting for him now could change the political fortunes of the Democratic Party and Mr. Han's biggest rival in the presidential election, Lee Jae-myung. It will only help.
“For a lawmaker, the most important consideration in all of this is how to prolong his life,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Seoul's Myongji University. “Legislators from the ruling party are weighing the pros and cons and will probably find it better to vote against impeachment this time.”
Opposition leader Lee acknowledged that dynamic in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, saying it may be difficult to garner votes from the ruling party this week. Still, he said, even if the president survives the initial impeachment motion, Democrats will continue to call for him to step down.
“He will be impeached. The only question is whether he will be removed from office the day after tomorrow, in a week, or in a month or three,” Lee said.
Party members including Lee Jae-myung hold protest signs calling for Yoon's resignation at the National Assembly in Seoul. Photo courtesy of Bloomberg
For PPP, its recent history helps shape decision-making. Some conservative members of Congress who supported the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016 later suffered from negative public image as if they had betrayed Park.
In the wake of that scandal, the Conservative Union rebranded itself as PPP. Despite opposition within the party, the party hired an outsider, Yoon (a former prosecutor who helped convict Park), to clean up the party's image.
Instead, the party is now trying to avoid further prolongation in the political wilderness. Mr. Yoon has become politically toxic, supporting a tough stance on North Korea and pro-business policies that appeal to conservative voters.
“I'm responsible.”
By blocking the first impeachment vote, conservative lawmakers can appeal to their own base while trying to sever ties with Yun. And since Mr. Han is a former prosecutor and relative political novice, he could use that time to consolidate his power.
Mr. Han's faction of the Democratic Progressive Party has about 20 members, and they were among those who joined forces with the rebels early Wednesday to reject martial law. He is now trying to persuade other members of the party, many of whom are in the middle between him and Mr. Yun, to move to his camp.
“I met the president yesterday, and his perception of the situation was very different from mine and the people's, and it was difficult for me to empathize with him,” Han told colleagues on Thursday. He appealed for support, adding: “I will take responsibility and take the initiative to resolve this situation.”
Lee, a left-wing opposition leader, was confident that Yoon would eventually be impeached, but other members of the party feared that rushing the impeachment move would embolden conservatives. Ta.
Former Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho, who led the effort to pass the impeachment bill against Park, told the local newspaper Dong-A Ilbo that the opposition should take time to persuade conservatives and gather public support for Yoon's dismissal. He said it was.
“Political power has the mission of cleaning up domestic chaos and organizing the country,” the newspaper quoted Wu as saying, referring to opposition forces. “And if we treat the impeachment of a president like a political battle, we're wasting this opportunity and we may not succeed.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
