South Korean president vows to ‘fight to the end’

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has defended last week’s failed bid to install the country’s military junta as the leader of his party signaled plans to support his ouster on Saturday.

In his second public appearance since opposing martial law, Yoon on Thursday morning criticized the opposition, calling them an “anti-government army”, and said North Korea had helped leftist opposition parties win parliamentary elections.

“I will fight to the end to stop the military and terrorist groups that have caused the country’s government to collapse and undermine the country’s constitution from destroying the future of the Republic of Korea,” Yoon said.

His refusal followed a statement by Han Dong-hoon, leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power party, that the president had not followed through on an agreement to transfer elections to his cabinet, leaving impeachment as the only defense. democracy of the world.

“We have tried to look for other ways that reduce the uncertainty associated with impeachment, but (the basis) for these reasons is that the president has to agree to resign,” Han told reporters. “But since the president has no such intention, other options are not useful.”

Han’s announcement suggests that the president’s impeachment could be resolved within days, after a week of chaos in which neither the government, the party nor the president’s office could confirm. who was in charge of the country.

Eight (8) of the 108 People Power legislators must vote for a resolution if the House of Commons needs a two-thirds majority to pass it. The party boycotted the vote last week, but a second vote is expected on Saturday.

“Impeachment is inevitable,” said Kang Won-taek, a professor of political science at Seoul National University. “It’s not that (the People Power party) never wanted to accuse him (directly), but last week it was too early to decide when there was little information about his intentions.

“But now there is a lot of evidence, combined with this public issue, that the president actually did this out of self-interest,” Kang said.

Yoon, who forbidden to travel when he was being investigated for criminal charges, he said his martial law was an administrative decision that could not be investigated by law enforcement agencies.

The president also said the night he issued the martial law, he sent troops to the country’s electoral commission to inspect its operations to see if North Korean terrorists interfered with April’s parliamentary elections. opposition parties won.

Yoon’s appearance comes after military officials told lawmakers on Wednesday that on the night of the military exercise, the president specifically ordered that lawmakers be prevented from voting to reject his order.

The head of the special forces Lieutenant General Kwak Jong-geun testified that Yoon told him to “open the door and drag the lawmakers” because he “didn’t get public.”

If the decision to impeach him is followed, it must be approved by the Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, the president is suspended from office, and power is handed over to the prime minister temporarily.

The court must issue its decision within 180 days of the parliamentary vote, but this period is not binding.