South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the martial law declaration and promised not to make another attempt to impose it.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized Saturday for the public anxiety caused by his short-lived attempt earlier this week, hours ahead of a parliamentary vote on impeaching him.to impose martial law
Yoon said in a brief televised address Saturday morning that he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promised not to make another attempt to impose it. He said he would leave it to his conservative political party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, « including matters related to my term in office. »
South Korean lawmakers are set to vote later Saturday on impeaching the president, as protests grew nationwide calling for his removal.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the motion submitted by opposition lawmakers would get the two-thirds majority required for Yoon to be impeached. But it appeared more likely after the leader of Yoon’s own party on Friday called for suspending his constitutional powers, describing him as unfit to hold the office and capable of taking more extreme action, including renewed attempts to impose martial law.
Impeaching Yoon would require support from 200 of the National Assembly’s 300 members. The opposition parties that jointly brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats combined.
That means they would need at least eight votes from Yoon’s People Power Party.
