Democratic Party officials demand Yun to resign immediately
Criticism of Yoon appears to be increasing after South Korea’s president revoked the previous martial law. Democratic Party official Park Chan-dae called on the president to resign.
According to CNN, President Park said that with regard to the declaration of martial law, Yun must “immediately resign” and that “charges of treason are inevitable.”
His comments came shortly after the leader of the minority opposition party announced that he would impeach Yun.
“He shocked the whole nation,” Cho Kuk said. “The president is a dangerous threat to democracy and the Constitution.”
He vowed to gather votes from other parties to impeach Yoon.
share
Updated at 17:32 ET
main events
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
President Yoon’s own aides offer to “resign en masse.”
Senior aides to South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol offered to resign en masse on Wednesday after the president declared martial law, which was lifted overnight, Yonhap News reported.
Yonhap News Agency said, “Yun’s close aides have collectively offered to resign due to the imposition of martial law,” but did not provide details.
The presidential palace did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on the report.
share
US Secretary of State reacts to Yun’s declaration of martial law
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday welcomed South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol’s decision to lift martial law just hours after it was imposed, AFP reported.
“We welcome President Yoon’s statement rescinding the order declaring emergency martial law under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea after the National Assembly unanimously rejected the declaration,” Blinken said, using the acronym for South Korea’s official name. said.
“We continue to expect that political differences will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.”
share
Updated on 20.02 ET
President Yoon faces growing dissatisfaction in the National Assembly
President Yoon Seok-yeol of the conservative People’s Power Party has completed his five-year term as president after two years, meaning he cannot run again.
But his term could end sooner.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, has announced that it will try to impeach Yoon if he refuses to resign.
Since the opposition parties control a combined 192 seats, members of Yun’s party will also need to join the opposition party to win the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament.
The Democratic Party stated, “We cannot stand by and watch over President Yoon’s crimes, which have destroyed the Constitution and trampled on democracy.” “President Yoon should immediately resign voluntarily.”
If the National Assembly votes to impeach Yoon, at least six of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court must support the decision.
If Yoon is removed from office, he will be the second president to suffer that fate since South Korea became a democracy. The other is Park Geun-hye, who was dismissed in 2017. Ironically, it was Yoon, then the prosecutor general, who led the corruption scandal that led to Park Geun-hye’s downfall.
share
Updated on 20.07 EST
South Koreans gather to demand President Yoon’s dismissal
On Wednesday morning, South Koreans began gathering on the streets of Seoul to demand the resignation of President Yun Seok-Yeol following the sudden and brief declaration of martial law.
Demands are also reportedly growing from the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (300-member National Assembly), which has said it intends to impeach Yoon if he refuses to resign.
share
Political turmoil in South Korea: What happens next?
Hello,
It’s almost 9am in Seoul. If you want to know why South Korea is in political turmoil, this explanation of what happened in the past few hours will help you understand the situation quickly.
share
Updated on 20.13 ET
South Korean media condemns Yoon’s shocking imposition of martial law
Hours after the declaration of shock in South Korea, newspapers from all sides of the political spectrum published scathing editorials about the imposition of martial law, said Rafael Rashid, a reporter for the Guardian newspaper in Seoul.
The conservative and influential Chosun Ilbo published a scathing editorial this morning, calling Yun’s declaration of martial law “far beyond” acceptable political limits and calling for accountability. The editorial said legal requirements had not been met and called it a “national embarrassment” for a top 10 democracy.
On the other hand, an editorial in the leftist Hankyoreh characterized Yun’s declaration of martial law as a “betrayal of the people” and said that “21st century South Korea” is the same cause that the elected president is using (“anti-national forces He expressed disbelief as to whether “21st century South Korea” would ever be able to see “South Korea in the 21st century” use such tactics as “plotting rebellion.” The military regime did so 45 years ago. The statement said that Yun had “lost the minimum level of judgment and reason as a head of state.”
share
Largest labor union demands Yun’s resignation
South Korea’s largest general labor union on Wednesday called for an “indefinite general strike” until President Yun Seok-Yeong resigns after giving up on briefly imposing martial law.
The Democratic Labor Union of Korea, which has 1.2 million members, accused Yoon of “irrational and anti-democratic measures” and said that Yoon had “declared the end of (his) power.”
share
Ruling party leader “holds responsibility” on those responsible
Leaders of South Korea’s ruling party described President Yoon Seok-yeol’s attempt to impose martial law as “tragic” and called for those involved to be held accountable.
“The president must directly and thoroughly explain this tragic situation,” Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People’s Power Party, told reporters on Wednesday’s television broadcast. They must be held accountable,” he added.
share
What kind of person is President Yoon Seok-yeol?
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol was elected in 2022 as a conservative political novice promising a tougher stance against North Korea.
It has not been an easy path for him, who took office with the lowest approval rating of any democratically elected South Korean president.
Those ratings fell further to 19% in Gallup’s latest poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and the controversy surrounding his wife, Kim Kun-hee.
In declaring martial law, South Korea’s leader denounced the opposition as “anti-national forces” and said he was acting to protect the country from “threats” posed by North Korea.
Born in Seoul in 1960, Yoon studied law and went on to become a star prosecutor and anti-corruption campaigner, helping to secure former President Park Geun-hye’s conviction for abuse of power.
In 2019, as the country’s top prosecutor, he indicted aides of outgoing President Moon Jae-in on fraud and bribery cases, tarnishing the image of the government.
The then-opposition party, the conservative People Power Party (PPP), liked what they saw and persuaded Yun to become their presidential candidate.
He was officially elected in March 2022 by defeating Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, but it was the narrowest margin in South Korean history.
Mr. Yun was never well-loved, and a series of scandals, including his administration’s response to the deadly 2022 Halloween riot, further eroded his popularity.
Critics have accused Yun’s government of food inflation, economic slowdown and increased restrictions on free speech.
Yun was the subject of a petition calling for his impeachment earlier this year, but his popularity meant that the National Assembly website hosting it experienced delays and crashes.
share
Here are more images from the event in Seoul:
share
Rafael Rashid
Seoul-based reporter Rafael Rashid writes that the sentiment in South Korea this morning is one of bewilderment and sadness.
For the older generation who fought the military dictatorship in the streets, martial law meant dictatorship, not 21st century South Korea. The younger generation is embarrassed by the damage he has done to the country’s reputation. People are confused. Also, everyone is wondering what his end goal was. Quick impeachment is the word on people’s lips.
share
It appears that calls for Yoon’s resignation are growing. According to Reuters, Minority Opposition Leader Cho Kuk met with protesters in front of the National Assembly and said, “This is not over. He has put everyone in shock.” and vowed to impeach Yoon.
share
