South Korea president apologises but stops short of resigning after martial law fiasco
07 December, 2024
South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol apologised but stopped short of resigning Saturday (Dec 7) over his declaration of martial law, as protesters gathered outside parliament ahead of a crucial impeachment vote that could decide his political fate.
"The declaration of martial law arose from my urgency as the president," Yoon said in a televised address, the first time he has appeared before the public since plunging the country into political chaos.
Yoon stunned the nation and the international community Tuesday night by imposing martial law for the first time since the 1980s and deploying troops and helicopters to parliament.
But lawmakers managed to vote down the decree, forcing Yoon to rescind the order in the early hours of Wednesday in a night of extraordinary drama for a country assumed to be a stable democracy. "The declaration of martial law arose from my urgency as the president," he said in a televised address, the first time he has appeared before the public since plunging the country into political chaos.
"However, in the process, I caused anxiety and inconvenience to the public. I sincerely apologise to the citizens who were greatly distressed."
The opposition and even key members of his own party have called for him to step down, and parliament is set to vote later Saturday on his impeachment, although the opposition leader has told AFP it is not clear the motion can pass.
Hundreds of protesters began to gather outside the parliament building by lunchtime Saturday ahead of the vote, with organisers hoping 200,000 people would attend to pile pressure on lawmakers.
Yoon did not offer to resign in his brief address, saying only that he would "entrust the party with measures to stabilise the political situation, including my term in office".
His People Power Party (PPP) is divided on the issue, with lawmakers late Friday sticking to the official line that they would block impeachment, even after party head Han Dong-hoon said Yoon must go or Seoul risked more political chaos.
"The normal performance of the president's duties is impossible under the (current) circumstances, and an early resignation of the president is inevitable," Han Dong-hoon told reporters early Saturday.
ENOUGH VOTES?
The opposition bloc holds 192 seats in the 300-strong parliament, while Yoon's PPP has 108.
Just eight ruling party lawmakers need to defect for the vote to get the two-thirds majority it needs to pass. One PPP lawmaker has already publicly said they will vote with the opposition.
Police have also begun investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection.
"I will not shy away from the issue of legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law," Yoon said during his address.
Opposition leader Lee said Yoon's speech was "very disappointing" given widespread public demands for him to step down.
His speech "only exacerbates the sense of betrayal and anger among the citizens", he said, adding the only solution to the current political chaos was "the immediate resignation of the president or an early departure through impeachment".
An opinion poll released Friday put backing for the 63-year-old president at a record low of 13 percent.
"The public will not forgive him," 63-year-old retiree Lee Wan-pyo told AFP at Seoul's main train station, where he was watching the president's speech live on television.
"I just want him to step down," said Han jeong-hwa, a 70-year-old housewife, who was also watching at Seoul station.
The martial law debacle was "unfortunate", said 19-year-old Jeon Yeon-ho, who said he'd taken South Korea's crucial university exam last month.
South Korea needs "to prevent such events from being recorded in history again," Jeon added.
Some protesters had camped out all in Seoul's Yeouido district, where the National Assembly is located, despite freezing temperatures, while opposition MPs remained in parliament overnight, fearing Yoon might try some desperate measure to remain in office.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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