South Korea’s president apologizes for declaring martial law in a possible impeachment vote

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized Saturday for public concern caused by his short-term effort to impose martial law earlier this week, with hours to go before Parliament votes on impeachment.

Yoon said in a brief televised speech on Saturday morning that he would not avoid legal or political responsibility for the announcement and promised that he would not make another attempt to enforce it. He said he will leave it to his successive political party to plan the political framework in the country, “including issues that affect my time in power.”

South Korean lawmakers are expected to vote later on Saturday on the president’s impeachment, as protests grow across the country calling for his impeachment.

It is not yet clear whether the motion submitted by the white opposition parties will receive the two-thirds majority required for Yoon’s removal from office. But it appeared more likely after Yoon’s party leader on Friday called for his constitutional powers to be suspended, describing him as unfit to hold the post and capable of taking drastic measures, including new attempts to impose martial law.

Impeaching Yoon would need the support of 200 of the 300 members of the National Assembly. The opposition parties have jointly submitted a proposal for expulsion with a combined 192 seats.

That means they will need at least eight votes from Yoon’s People Power Party. On Wednesday, 18 members of the PPP joined in a unanimous vote to revoke martial law 190-0 less than three hours after Yoon announced the move on television, calling the opposition-controlled parliament a “den of criminals” interfering in state affairs. The vote took place as hundreds of heavily armed soldiers surrounded the National Assembly in an attempt to disrupt the vote and possibly detain key politicians.

Parliament said on Saturday it will meet at 5 pm local time. It will first vote on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the impact of the alleged sales involving Yoon’s wife, and then Yoon to press charges.

The uproar over Yoon’s wild and ill-considered blunders has paralyzed South Korean politics and stoked tensions among key diplomatic partners, including neighboring Japan and Seoul’s main ally, the United States, as one of Asia’s strongest democracies grapples with a political crisis that could unseat the leader. its.

Opposition lawyers said Yoon’s declaration of martial law was self-inflicted and filed a motion to impeach him on treason charges.

The PPP decided to oppose the impeachment at a parliamentary meeting, despite the pleas of its leader Han Dong-hun, who is not a lawyer and does not have a vote.

After a party meeting on Friday, Han stressed the need to stop the president’s job and Yoon’s power immediately, saying it “may put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in grave danger.”

Han said intelligence had found that during the brief period of martial law, Yoon ordered the country’s defense chief to arrest and detain unspecified politicians for alleged “anti-state activities.”

Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, later told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the security forces arrest key politicians. Politicians targeted include Han, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

The Ministry of Defense said it has suspended the chief of defense, Yeo In-hyung, who is suspected of having received orders from Yoon to arrest politicians. The ministry also suspended Lee Jin-woo, commander of the capital security division, and Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the special warfare command, for their involvement in martial law enforcement.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who is accused of recommending Yoon to apply martial law, has been placed under a travel ban and is facing a prosecutor’s investigation on charges of treason.

Deputy Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho, who became acting defense minister after Yoon accepted Kim Yong Hyun’s resignation on Thursday, testified in parliament that it was Kim Yong Hyun who ordered troops to be sent to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.