Martial law: South Korean President Yoon apologizes but does not resign

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday presented his “sincere apologies” for briefly imposing martial law but did not resign, hours before a Parliament vote on his impeachment and massive protests in Seoul.

In a short televised address to the nation, Mr. Yoon announced that he will entrust his party, the People Power Party (PPP), with the responsibility of “measures aimed at stabilizing the political situation, including regarding my mandate”.

“I will not shy away from my legal and political responsibilities regarding the declaration of martial law”he said.

The head of the PPP, Han Dong-hoon, immediately affirmed that“an early resignation of the president is inevitable”the normal exercise of his functions being according to him “impossible in these circumstances”.

The National Assembly must decide at 5:00 p.m. local time (08:00 GMT) on the impeachment motion. A qualified majority of 200 deputies out of 300 is necessary to dismiss the president.

Mr. Yoon’s PPP has 108 deputies and the opposition has 192. The latter therefore needs to rally at least eight deputies from the presidential camp to its cause to win.

At the end of a meeting overnight from Friday to Saturday, a majority of party deputies reaffirmed the official line according to which they will defeat the impeachment, against the advice of Mr. Han.

The latter was the target of one of the arrest orders issued by Mr. Yoon against political leaders on the night of the coup, and the soldiers who had burst into Parliament had sought to seize him, said Friday a opposition MP, Jo Seung-lae, saying he was basing himself on images from surveillance cameras.

“Immediate resignation”

“Right now, the biggest risk in South Korea is the very existence of the president. The only solutions are immediate resignation (…) or early departure by dismissal”said the leader of the Democratic Party, the main opposition force, Lee Jae-myung on Saturday.

The President’s statement is “very disappointing” et “only exacerbates the feeling of betrayal and anger among citizens”he added to the press.

On Friday evening, around 15,000 demonstrators gathered in front of the National Assembly to demand the departure of Mr. Yoon and his arrest. Some stayed all night.

New anti-Yoon protests are planned for Saturday afternoon in front of Parliament and in downtown Seoul. Organizers said they expected 200,000 participants and police “tens of thousands”.

The unpopular conservative president is accused by the opposition and by part of his own camp of having shaken the young South Korean democracy by imposing martial law by surprise, before reversing course six hours later under pressure from the deputies and the street.

Camp at the Assembly

Fearing a new nocturnal coup by Mr. Yoon, who had disappeared from the public scene since Wednesday, opposition deputies camped out all night inside the National Assembly.

Buses and other vehicles were parked on plazas around the building to prevent possible special forces helicopters from landing.

In his speech on Saturday morning, the president however assured that“there will never be a second martial law”.

“I apologize for causing fear to the people”concluded the president before bowing.

During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, around 280 soldiers burst into Parliament, where the opposition had called an emergency session after the establishment of martial law by Mr. Yoon.

Parliamentary assistants prevented them from entering the chamber by blocking the doors with furniture, while the 190 deputies who had managed to sneak into the building unanimously adopted a motion calling for the measure to be lifted. exceptional.

Mr. Yoon complied shortly after, as required by the Constitution, repealed martial law and sent the soldiers back to their barracks.

If the dismissal is passed, Mr. Yoon will be suspended from his functions until the Constitutional Court validates or not the decision of the deputies. If so, an early presidential election must take place within 60 days.

In addition to the impeachment procedure, Yoon Suk Yeol is the target of a police investigation for “rebellion”a crime theoretically punishable by death (which has not been applied in the country since 1997).