SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol looked increasingly likely to be ousted Friday after the leader of his ruling party demanded he be removed from office for briefly imposing martial law.
If Yoon stays, “there is a significant risk that extreme actions similar to the declaration of martial law will occur again, which could put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger,” said Han Dong-Hoon, head of the Yoon’s people power. Party (PPP).
Opposition lawmakers were holed up in Parliament ahead of a vote on Yoon’s impeachment scheduled for Saturday night, fearing the embattled president would launch a last, desperate bid to stay in power.
“With the impeachment vote scheduled for tomorrow, the hours leading up to it are extremely precarious,” opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung told AFP. “Tonight will be the most critical period,” he told the National Assembly, where an aide said buses have been strategically parked to prevent helicopters from landing.
“Great danger”
Yoon declared martial law Tuesday night and sent soldiers and helicopters to Parliament in a doomed bid to prevent lawmakers from voting against his suspension of civilian government.
The opposition tabled the impeachment motion on Wednesday – now scheduled for a vote on Saturday around 5:00 p.m. (0800 GMT), after being brought forward by two hours – but Han initially said he would oppose it.
However, on Friday, the once loyal PPP leader broke with the president.
“Given recent developments, I believe that a prompt suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han said.
Demonstrations
Police expect tens of thousands of people to take part in anti-Yoon rallies on Saturday ahead of the impeachment vote, which requires a two-thirds majority. Organizers hope 200,000 people will take to the streets.
The opposition bloc holds 192 seats in the 300-member parliament, while the PPP has 108. A positive vote would suspend Yoon from office pending a decision by the Constitutional Court.
Han’s change of heart was “significantly influenced by the seriousness of the situation, especially the mobilization of intelligence agencies to arrest politicians”, Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP .
A new opinion poll released Friday places support for the 63-year-old president, who has lurched from crisis to crisis since taking office in 2022, at a record high of 13 percent.
On Friday evening, at least 15,000 anti-Yoon protesters braved the cold to gather in Seoul’s Yeouido district, where the National Assembly is located. They held candles and signs reading “Yoon Suk Yeol should resign (for) insurrection crimes” while calling for his arrest.
In the nearby Gwanghwamun district, Seoul resident Kim Hye-ryeong, 47, told AFP she was “very worried”. “Regardless of what happens to President Yoon tomorrow, it appears that Korean politics will be quite chaotic for the foreseeable future,” she said.
“Anti-state elements”
In his address to the nation Tuesday evening, Yoon said martial law would “protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements who plunder the people’s freedom and happiness.” .
Security forces cordoned off the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and nearly 300 soldiers attempted to lock down the building.
But as parliamentary staff blocked the soldiers with couches and fire extinguishers, enough lawmakers went inside — many scaled the walls to get in — and voted against Yoon’s decision.
The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea’s autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out about it through television.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Friday that he “expects the… democratic process to prevail.”
Insurrection
Han said Friday that “credible evidence” suggested Yoon had ordered the detention of “key politicians” – something Yoon’s office denied, Yonhap news agency reported.
Opposition lawmaker Jo Seung-Lae said those people included opposition leader Lee, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-Shik and Han himself. South Korean special forces chief Kwak Jong-Geun said Friday he had been ordered to “take out” lawmakers from Parliament.
Hong Jang-Won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, said Yoon ordered him to work with a defense counterintelligence unit to arrest more than 10 key politicians.
A 120-strong police investigation team has been set up to investigate Yoon and other senior officials accused of insurrection, police told AFP.
Police said they confiscated the phones of the heads of the national police, the Seoul Metropolitan Police and the National Assembly security department.
On Thursday, Yoon’s office announced that Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun had resigned, but other key allies, including Interior Minister Lee Sang-Min, remained in office. Prosecutors also banned Kim from leaving the country, Yonhap reported.
The Defense Ministry announced Friday that it had suspended three senior commanders involved in the martial law operation.
