Yoon as president a 'significant risk' to South Korea, ruling party seeks his resignation before impeachment vote
Yoon as president a 'significant risk' to South Korea, ruling party seeks his resignation before impeachment vote
A day ahead of vote to impeach South Korean president, the country’s ruling party leader Hang Dong-hoon has intensified demand of Yoon Suk Yeol stepping down from the constitutional post, but vowed to block motion
 "Yoon as president a 'significant risk' to South Korea, ruling party seeks his resignation before impeachment vote")
Warning of a “significant risk” of the South Korean President trying to subvert martial law again, the ruling People Power Party leader Hang Dong-hoon on Friday demanded that Yoon Suk Yeol be removed from the constitutional post.
On Tuesday, Yoon had imposed martial law but was forced to suspend it within six hours after lawmakers faced down soldiers at parliament and voted to overturn the measure.
‘Significant risk’
Han of Friday said that Yoon remaining in the post poses a “significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law, which could potentially put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger.”
“Considering the newly emerging facts, I believe that a swift suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s duties is necessary to safeguard the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han further said in televised comments.
Han went on to say that Yoon “does not acknowledge that this illegal martial law is wrong” and has failed to act against the military officials who “illegally intervened”.
The ruling party leader further claimed that he had received intelligence that President Yoon, after imposing his short-lived martial law, had ordered the South Korea’s defence counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities”.
A report by AFP cited Opposition lawmaker Jo Seung-lae as saying that security camera footage indicated that soldiers were attempting to arrest opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, and PPP chief Han.
Meanwhile, in a separate televised speech Lee said it was crucial to suspend Yoon as “quickly as possible."
Lee said Yoon’s martial law enforcement amounted to “rebellion and also a self-coup,” adding that the move caused serious damage to the country’s image and paralysed foreign policy.
Clamouring call for Yoon’s resignation ahead of vote
A motion to impeach Yoon has already been put forward by the Opposition and voting is expected on Saturday around 7:00 pm (1000 GMT).
To impeach Yoon, support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members is required. The Opposition parties, who jointly brought the impeachment motion, have 192 seats combined, while the PPP has 108.
A successful vote would suspend Yoon from office pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court.
However, Han’s latest comments, demanding immediate resignation of Yoon, represent a stunning U-turn a day after he said that the PPP would block the motion.
Han is the leader of an anti-Yoon faction within the ruling party. As many as 18 lawmakers of his faction voted with opposition members to overturn Yoon’s martial law decree on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, according to a report by AFP, a fresh opinion poll issued Friday put backing for Yoon at a record low of 13 per cent.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Tuesday was the first such in more than four decades in South Korea which brought back painful memories of its autocratic past.
The President said that the move was to “safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness.”
On Thursday, lawmakers grilled senior figures, including army chief of staff General Park An-su, who acted as Yoon’s martial law commander.
Park said he was kept in the dark until after the president had announced the imposition of martial law on live television late Tuesday.
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