Impeachment of South Korean president highly likely as party calls him ‘dangerous’ – National
A top official in South Korea’s ruling party voiced support Friday for suspending President Yoon Suk Yeol’s constitutional powers by imposing martial law this week, further delaying the bombshell that led to Yoon’s impeachment.
Opposition parties are calling for a parliamentary vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday, calling his temporary declaration of martial law “treason, illegal rebellion or coup d’état”. But they need support from other members of the People Power Party presidency to get the number of two-thirds required to pass the impeachment motion.
The turmoil sparked by Yoon’s overnight martial law declaration has brought South Korean politics to a standstill and raised concerns among neighbors, including democratic Japan, and Seoul’s main ally, the United States, as one of Asia’s most powerful democracies grapples with a potentially divisive political crisis. . the leader.
During the party meeting, PPP leader Han Dong-hun stressed the need to stop the president’s duties and Yoon’s powers immediately, saying that he poses “a great risk of extreme actions, such as re-imposing martial law, which could put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in danger.” big.”
Han said he had received intelligence that Yoon had ordered the country’s defense chief to arrest and detain unspecified politicians for alleged “activities against the state” while martial law was in effect.
“It is my opinion that the immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s job is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han said.
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. The PPP has 108 members of parliament.
If Yoon is removed from office, he will be suspended until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential powers. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s No. 2 head of state, will take over the presidency.
The Ministry of Defense said it has suspended a security commander, Yeo In-hyung, who is said to have 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.
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In a closed-door briefing for lawmakers, Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, said Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense force arrest key politicians. The politicians targeted include Han, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, said Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. Kim said Hong told law enforcement he was ignoring Yoon’s orders.
The director of this spy agency, Cho Taeyong, asked about Hong’s account. Cho told reporters that the order would have come from him, not Hong, and that he never received any orders from Yoon to arrest politicians.
Han earlier said he would work to defeat the impeachment motion even as he criticized Yoon’s declaration of martial law as “unconstitutional.” Han said there is a need to “prevent damage to citizens and supporters caused by unprepared chaos.”
Thousands of protesters have marched through the streets of Seoul since Wednesday, calling for Yoon to resign and be investigated.
Thousands of auto workers and other members of the Korea Metal Workers’ Union, one of the country’s largest labor unions, have begun round-the-clock strikes since Thursday to protest Yoon. The union said its members would begin indefinite strikes starting on December 11 if Yoon was still in charge at that time.
Deputy Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho pledged the ministry’s “active cooperation” with prosecutors’ investigation into the military’s role in enforcing Yoon’s martial law. He said military prosecutors will also be involved in the investigation. He denied media speculation that Yoon and his confidants in the military might consider imposing martial law a second time.
“Even if there is a need to apply martial law, the Ministry of Defense and the Chief of Staff will never accept it,” Kim said.
Kim became acting defense minister after Yoon’s office on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who was also barred from traveling while under investigation for the imposition of martial law.
The opposition and Han say it was Kim Yong Hyun who suggested that Yoon declare martial law. During a parliamentary hearing on Thursday, Kim Seon Ho said Kim Yong Hyun also ordered troops to be sent to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.
Han leads a small group in the ruling party, and 18 lawmakers from his party voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Yoon’s declaration of martial law. Martial law ended up dragging on for about six hours, after its swift repeal by the National Assembly forced Yoon’s cabinet to lift it before dawn on Wednesday.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, said in a televised speech on Friday that it was important to stop Yoon “as soon as possible.”
Lee said Yoon’s martial law is tantamount to “mutiny and rebellion.” He said that Yoon’s action has caused great damage to the state of the country and also crippled foreign policy, pointing to the criticism of the Biden administration and foreign leaders who canceled their visit to South Korea.
Yoon didn’t immediately respond to Han’s comment. He has not been seen in public since announcing on television that martial law had been lifted.
Prosecutor General Shim Woo Jung told reporters that prosecutors plan to investigate treason charges against Yoon following complaints filed by the opposition. Although the president cannot be prosecuted while in office, the immunity does not extend to accusations of rebellion or treason. It is unclear how prosecutors plan to proceed with the investigation into Yoon.
The Democratic Party is also considering filing a complaint against PPP leader Choo Kyung-ho, whom the opposition accuses of trying to facilitate Yoon’s legal career.
Choo, loyal to Yoon, asked the party’s lawyers to meet at the party’s headquarters rather than at the National Assembly after martial law began. That meant that few lawmakers were present during the parliamentary vote on lifting martial law.
