South Korea’s Yoon under pressure to resign as threat of impeachment looms

SEOUL: South Korea’s ruling party leader said President Yoon Suk Yeol needed to be removed from power for trying to impose martial law, increasing the pressure on him to quit even though members of his People Power Party late on Friday (Dec 6) reaffirmed its formal opposition to his impeachment.

On Saturday, lawmakers will vote on the main opposition Democratic Party’s motion to impeach Yoon, who shocked the nation late on Tuesday when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers in order to root out what he called “anti-state forces” and overcome obstructionist political opponents.

Yoon rescinded the declaration about six hours later after parliament, including some members of his party, voted to oppose the decree.

The vote is now scheduled for 5pm local time (4pm Singapore time) after it was brought forward by two hours.

The conservative PPP has vowed to oppose the impeachment Bill, a position it reaffirmed on Friday night following a lengthy meeting of its lawmakers – at least some of whom would need to back it for the motion to succeed.

Yoon said he would listen to the party’s concerns, a PPP spokesperson told reporters.

Acting Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho said reports that had swirled throughout Friday that there might be another attempt to impose martial law were not true.

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon had earlier added fuel to those rumours, and suggested the party’s stance on impeachment might be shifting when he said there was “a high risk of extreme actions such as this emergency martial law being repeated” while Yoon remained in power.

HOLED UP IN PARLIAMENT

Opposition MPs were holed up in parliament until the impeachment vote, fearing the embattled president might launch one desperate final attempt to remain in power.

“With the impeachment vote set for tomorrow, the hours leading up to it are extremely precarious,” opposition leader Lee Jae-myung told AFP on Friday. 

“Tonight will be the most critical period,” he said at the National Assembly, where according to an aide buses have been strategically parked to stop helicopters from landing.

“People might believe the military and police would hesitate to support a second attempt, but Yoon could exploit loopholes to give it another try,” Lee said.

Lee’s Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, has instructed all of its 170 lawmakers to stay inside the main building until the impeachment vote.

This unprecedented “sleep-in” follows revelations that the soldiers who stormed the National Assembly on Tuesday had orders to arrest and detain lawmakers, including Lee, top army officials have said.

One of the key reasons the “absurd and dangerous coup” attempt failed, Lee said, was because of the bravery of ordinary South Koreans.

It was “thanks to citizens who blocked armoured vehicles by sitting in the streets and to parliamentary staff and lawmakers who put their lives on the line”, he said, using office furniture to fend off heavily armed troops and giving MPs enough time to vote.

Tens of thousands of people are expected at anti-Yoon rallies on Saturday ahead of the impeachment vote, with organisers predicting around 200,000 people. 

“A large-scale gathering and march involving tens of thousands of participants will be held in the city centre and Yeouido area (in Seoul) on Saturday, and traffic restrictions will be imposed on some roads,” Seoul Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“RACE AGAINST TIME”

Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, has been warning for months that Yoon might resort to martial law – a claim critics dismissed as “ridiculous fear-mongering”.

Lee was ready for bed on Tuesday night, when his wife rushed in showing him a video of President Yoon announcing martial law – at first, the veteran leader assumed it must be a deepfake.

“When my wife told me Yoon had declared martial law, I told her to stop joking,” he said.

But once he grasped the seriousness of the situation, he immediately messaged his party’s lawmakers, telling them to get to the National Assembly, then jumping in his car – his wife drove – and livestreaming on his YouTube to call for help.

“President Yoon’s illegal martial law declaration is invalid. Please come to the National Assembly now. I am heading there as well,” he urged supporters from the car.

Soon, thousands of people had gathered outside the parliament building, chanting: “Arrest Yoon!”

“With parliamentary staff physically blocking the soldiers, we managed to pass a resolution just a step ahead of them (soldiers) … It was a race against time,” he said.

GROWING GUILT

Lee urged Yoon to step down, saying that he could yet bring “the unfortunate situation to an end” before the vote and, if it succeeds, a court ruling that would finalise it.

“Every minute he stays in office, his guilt and responsibility grow larger,” he said.

South Korea has risen from colonialism and war to become Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a vibrant democracy, with its cultural power – from K-pop to a Nobel-prize-winning author – soaring globally.

Lee insisted this week’s six-hour stint of martial law – the first in over four decades – should be viewed as an isolated misstep.

“It’s vital to view Yoon’s highly irrational, impulsive, and unreasonable decision as an extraordinary anomaly,” he said.

He compared it to “a sudden fever caused by bacteria” that the body’s immune system quickly overcomes.

“South Korea’s democracy is strong, and its people are courageous and wise. That is why this absurd attempt at a military coup was defeated so swiftly.”

Passing the impeachment motion will require eight lawmakers from Yoon’s ruling party to vote with the opposition – and Lee said although he was increasingly confident they could do it, he did not know for sure.

He urged ruling party lawmakers to “reflect on what politics truly is. It is about representing the will of the people … and the people’s will is now clear”.