South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol apologized for his brief attempt to impose martial law this week and vowed to face legal consequences hours before an impeachment vote in parliament.
In a televised address to the nation, Yun said he “deeply regrets” causing anxiety and inconvenience to the people and promised never to impose martial law again. He said he would leave the decision on his term to the People Power Party (PPP) and that he would not shirk legal and political responsibility for his actions.
According to national news agency Yonhap News, Democratic Progressive Party leader Han Dong-hoon immediately after his speech said that the president's early resignation was inevitable and that he was no longer in a position to carry out his duties.
It is unclear whether the motion submitted by opposition members will be able to secure the two-thirds majority needed to impeach Yoon. But on Friday, Mr. Han called for an end to his constitutional powers, saying he was unfit for office and that he could take more extreme actions, including new attempts to impose martial law. It seems that possibility has increased.
Impeachment of Yoon requires the support of 200 of the 300 members of the National Assembly. The opposition parties that jointly submitted the impeachment motion have a total of 192 seats.
In other words, at least eight votes from Yun's PPP are needed. On Wednesday, 18 members of the party voted unanimously, 190-0, to revoke martial law and put the opposition in control, less than three hours after Yin announced the measure on television. He called Congress a “den of criminals'' that stalled national politics. The vote took place as hundreds of heavily armed troops surrounded parliament in an attempt to disrupt the vote and in some cases arrest key politicians.
At a time when one of Asia's strongest democracies faces a political crisis, the chaos caused by Yun's bizarre and thoughtless actions has paralyzed South Korean politics, threatening to disrupt neighboring Japan and South Korea's biggest allies. It caused alarm among major diplomatic partners, including the United States. It could unseat its leader.
Opposition members argue that Yun's declaration of martial law amounted to a self-inflicted coup d'état and that he has drafted an impeachment motion on charges of sedition.
The People's Party decided to oppose impeachment at a parliamentary meeting despite the appeals of Mr. Han, who is not a lawmaker and does not have the right to vote.
After Friday's party meeting, Mr. Han stressed the need to immediately end Mr. Yoon's presidential duties and powers, saying, “This could put the Republic of Korea and its people at great risk.''
Han said he had received information that during the brief period of martial law, Yun ordered the defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-national activities.” .
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, later told lawmakers in a closed-door conference that after martial law was imposed, Yoon called him and ordered him to assist the National Defense Counterintelligence Force in arresting key politicians. Ta.
Kim Byung-ki, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting, said politicians targeted included Han, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik.
The Ministry of Defense announced that it had suspended Yeo In-hyun, the defense counterintelligence commander, who Han claimed had received orders from Yun to detain politicians. The ministry also suspended Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo and Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jeong-geun for their involvement in the enforcement of martial law.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is accused of encouraging Yoon to impose martial law, has been banned from traveling and is facing a prosecutorial investigation on suspicion of sedition.
Kim Seon-ho, the vice minister of defense who took over as acting vice minister of defense after Yoon accepted Kim's resignation on Thursday, said it was the person who ordered the dispatch of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. He testified in Congress that it was Mr. Kim.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report
