The head of South Korea's ruling party on Friday expressed support for suspending President Yun Seok-Yeol's constitutional authority to impose martial law this week, in a bombshell statement that raises the possibility of Yun's impeachment.
Opposition parties are calling for a vote in the Diet to impeach Yun on Saturday, calling his brief declaration of martial law an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.”
However, in order to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to pass the impeachment bill, the party will need support from some members of the president's People Power Party.
The chaos caused by Mr. Yoon's overnight martial law has frozen South Korean politics, leaving fellow democracies at a time when one of Asia's strongest democracies faces a political crisis that could dethrone them. This has caused anxiety in neighboring countries, including Japan, the largest ally in the world, and the United States, South Korea's biggest ally. leader.
At a party meeting, Democratic Progressive Party leader Han Dong-hoon emphasized the need to immediately suspend Yun's presidential duties and powers, saying that Yun was “dangerous to the Republic of Korea and the nation, including by attempting to impose martial law again.” “This poses a significant risk of extreme behavior that could expose people to serious risks.” The people are at great risk. ”
Mr. Han received information that during a short period of martial law, Mr. Yun ordered the defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians on suspicion of “anti-state activities.” He said he had obtained it.
“It is my judgment that President Yoon Seok-Yeong's official duties must be immediately suspended in order to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,'' Han said.
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, said in a closed-door conference with lawmakers that Yoon called him after martial law was imposed and read out a long list of politicians he wanted to detain.
Kim Byung-ki, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting, said Han, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik were among them. Kim said he told lawmakers that Hong ignored Yoon's orders.
Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly, Cho Tae-young, director of the Espionage Agency, questioned Hong's explanation. Cho said such orders were given to him, not Hong, and that he had never received orders from Yoon to detain politicians.
Earlier, Han criticized Yun's declaration of martial law as “unconstitutional,” but said he would work to reject the impeachment bill.
Han said it was necessary to “prevent damage to the people and supporters due to unexpected chaos.”
Thousands of protesters have marched in the streets of Seoul since Wednesday, demanding Yoon's resignation and an investigation.
Thousands of autoworkers and other members of the Korea Metalworkers Union, one of the country's largest general labor organizations, began hourly strikes starting Thursday to protest Mr. Yoon.
The union announced that its members would begin an indefinite strike from Dec. 11 if Yoon was still in office.
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. The PPP has 108 members.
In a televised statement, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Seong-ho pledged the Ministry of Defense's “active cooperation” with prosecutors' investigation into the military's role in Yoon's enforcement of martial law.
He said military prosecutors would also be involved in the investigation. He denied media speculation that Yun and his military aides would consider imposing martial law a second time.
Kim said, “Even if there is a request to impose martial law, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will never comply.''
Yoon's office on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is currently under a travel ban and under investigation for his role in Yoon's imposition of martial law. Kim was appointed acting defense minister.
Opposition parties and Mr. Han claim that it was Mr. Kim Yong-hyun who encouraged Mr. Yoon to take action. At a National Assembly hearing on Thursday, Kim Seong-ho said that after Yoon imposed martial law, Kim Yong-hyun also ordered troops to be sent to the National Assembly.
Han was previously considered a close ally of Yun, having worked with him for many years as a prosecutor and serving as Yun's first justice minister.
However, after Mr. Han entered party politics and became the PPP leader, their relationship deteriorated due to disagreements over how to handle a scandal involving Mr. Yoon and his wife.
Mr. Han heads a minority faction within the ruling party, whose 18 members voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Mr. Yoon's martial law.
Martial law ultimately lasted about six hours after a swift rejection by the National Assembly forced Yun's cabinet to lift it in the early hours of Wednesday.
If Yoon is impeached, he will remain impeached until the Constitutional Court makes a decision on whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential powers. Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, the country's second-highest bureaucrat, will take over the presidential position.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, said in a televised speech on Friday that it was important to suspend Yoon “as soon as possible.”
Mr. Lee said that Mr. Yun's imposition of martial law amounted to “a rebellion and a self-coup.” He said Yun's actions had seriously damaged the country's image and paralyzed its foreign policy, pointing to criticism from the Biden administration and the cancellation of visits by foreign leaders.
Yun did not immediately respond to Han's comments.
He has not appeared in public since announcing on television that martial law would be lifted.
Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung told reporters on Friday that prosecutors will investigate sedition charges against Yoon following the opposition's complaint.
Presidents are immune from prosecution in most cases while in office, but that protection does not extend to charges of sedition or treason.
It is not clear at this point how the prosecution plans to proceed with the investigation against Yoon.
Democratic Party spokesperson Cho Seung-rae said Friday that the party is considering filing charges against Democratic Progressive Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho for trying to facilitate Yoon's enforcement of martial law.
After the imposition of martial law, Mr. Qiu, a supporter of Mr. Yoon, had requested party members to convene at the party headquarters instead of the Diet.
This meant fewer MPs were present for important parliamentary votes on lifting martial law.
The Biden administration is working closely with the Yun administration while strengthening trilateral security cooperation with Japan to counter the threat of North Korea and regional instability, and expressed deep concern about Yun's actions. are.
In a telephone conversation with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken welcomed the lifting of martial law following a parliamentary vote and expressed confidence in South Korea's democratic resilience, according to the State Department.
A US defense official said that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had decided that it was not the right time and canceled his planned visit to South Korea.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss travel plans that are not normally made public, said the Pentagon consulted South Korean officials in Austin about the decision.
Mr. Austin is scheduled to leave for California on Friday to speak at the Reagan National Defense Forum, then head to Japan.
