Members of the Korean Federation of Democratic Labor Union held placards that read, “Yun Seok-yeol, who led the riot, resign!” On December 6, a rally calling for Yoon’s impeachment was held in front of the headquarters of the ruling People’s Power Party in Seoul. Jung-Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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Jung Young Jae/AFP via Getty Images
SEOUL — New details emerged Friday about South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law this week, intensifying calls for his impeachment.
Congress is scheduled to vote on the impeachment bill on Saturday, and large-scale street demonstrations are expected.
Among the details revealed on Friday was that Mr. Yoon’s defense minister at the time ordered the military to remove and detain lawmakers from South Korea’s National Assembly, an order the military refused. did. Later, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun also resigned.
In a meeting with Congressman Kim Byung-joo, Lieutenant General Kwak Jeong-geun, commander of the South Korean Army Special Warfare Command, said, “It is clearly illegal to drag out a lawmaker, and the people who carried out that mission will naturally have to bear legal responsibility later.” It will be questioned,” he said. Korean media reported. “I knew it would be considered disobedience because I received this order, but I didn’t tell them,” Kwak said.
“The soldiers that were sent in were not conscripts. They were all professionals,” Lt. Gen. Chung In-beom, a former special forces commander, told NPR. “The people who gave them the mission didn’t realize that they were not zombies, but democratically trained citizen soldiers.”
South Korea’s martial law law states that lawmakers are exempt from arrest unless they are arrested for a crime.
As a result of the commanders’ refusal to comply with the former defense minister’s orders, lawmakers remained in the National Assembly and unanimously passed a resolution calling for the lifting of Yun’s martial law. Martial law was later lifted early Wednesday morning.
However, troops were sent to the Central Election Commission on Tuesday night. Defense Minister Kim at the time told local media, “This was to determine the necessity of investigating allegations of election fraud.”
Another detail that emerged on Friday came from the deputy director of South Korea’s intelligence agency, who said that Mr. Yoon had ordered the arrest of not only members of Congress but also a popular liberal journalist and a former Supreme Court judge. Intelligence agency chief Cho Tae-young later denied that Yoon had ordered the arrest of politicians.
Amid concerns that Mr. Yoon may try to declare martial law again, South Korea’s acting defense minister, Kim Seong-ho, told reporters that neither the defense ministry nor the military would accept such an order. spoke.
On Friday, university students held a demonstration at the headquarters of President Yun Seok-yeol’s People’s Power Party in Seoul. The banner reads, “Participating in blocking impeachment is a crime.” Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images Hide caption
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Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Meanwhile, a representative for Yun’s own party said Friday that Yun’s constitutional powers should be suspended, saying the president could “put the Republic of Korea and its people at great risk, including by attempting to impose martial law again.” It warned that “sexist behavior poses a significant risk of extreme behavior”.
Friday’s revelations appear to increase the likelihood that Yun will be impeached. Saturday’s vote requires a two-thirds majority in the 300-member parliament, so some ruling party members will need to side with the opposition for the vote to succeed. At least one person said he supported impeachment.
If Yin is impeached, it could result in the removal of regional leaders who have supported the Biden administration’s key policy goals in Asia.
“Yun was in many ways the best partner for South Korea for the United States,” said Daniel Snyder, an expert on Asia policy at Stanford University. “The Biden administration has made huge investments in President Yoon’s administration,” he said, particularly in South Korea and Japan, putting aside historical feuds and participating in trilateral military cooperation to deter North Korea. He said he urged them to do so.
Snyder said a post-impeachment election could result in a liberal administration more interested in engaging with Russia, North Korea and China.
So, says Leif Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, “Seoul’s interests extend beyond South Korean democracy.”
Those stakes include whether Asia’s major middle powers will continue to oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and cooperate with the United States in defending human rights, Easley said.
NPR’s Se Eun Gong contributed to this report in Seoul.
