South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose attempt to impose martial law failed last week, declared on Thursday that he has no intention of stepping down despite mounting pressure from lawmakers and the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it is impeachment or investigation, I will face it confidently,\u201d Yoon stated during a televised address, referencing both the impeachment efforts and ongoing investigations surrounding his brief declaration of martial law.<\/p>\n
Yoon criticized the Democratic Party (DP), the primary opposition party, accusing it of misrepresenting his actions. \u201cThe opposition party is performing a knife dance by calling martial law an uprising,\u201d Yoon said. He claimed that the DP’s actions were the primary reason for last week’s martial law declaration, accusing them of paralyzing national politics through their impeachment strategies. \u201cThe purpose of martial law was to warn the massive opposition party to cease their anti-state behavior by exposing their misconduct to the people,\u201d Yoon argued.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute speech marked Yoon\u2019s second public address since the abrupt lifting of martial law on December 4. During a prior appearance before an impeachment vote in the National Assembly, Yoon apologized for the political turmoil caused by his decree but refrained from elaborating on his decision to deploy military forces to South Korea’s legislature.<\/p>\n
Yoon\u2019s latest address followed a police raid on his office, where authorities seized documents related to the martial law declaration. He is currently under investigation for alleged involvement in an uprising, with prosecutors naming him as a suspect. The chief of the Corruption Investigation Office confirmed the possibility of Yoon\u2019s arrest under these charges.<\/p>\n
Despite his defiance, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), expressed hopes that party lawmakers would support a second impeachment vote scheduled for Saturday. \u201cI trust that our party lawmakers will vote for the country and the people,\u201d Han stated. He acknowledged that he had sought alternative solutions but found none, ultimately supporting impeachment.<\/p>\n
In stark contrast, opposition lawmakers questioned Yoon\u2019s mental stability. Park Jie-won, a senior DP member, harshly criticized Yoon\u2019s address, writing on Facebook: \u201cYoon Suk Yeol is still crazy. We cannot allow this madman to hold the presidential post and control of the military for even a second.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former President Moon Jae-in also weighed in, condemning the current administration. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Moon called the situation \u201can abnormal state that must not persist.\u201d He urged the National Assembly to restore stability and peace for the South Korean people.<\/p>\n
Public sentiment overwhelmingly favors Yoon\u2019s resignation or removal. A survey conducted by RealMeter on Thursday revealed that 74.8% of respondents supported the president\u2019s immediate resignation or impeachment. Protests advocating for Yoon\u2019s dismissal continue to grow nationwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose attempt to impose martial law failed last week, declared on Thursday that he has no intention of stepping down despite mounting pressure from lawmakers and the public. \u201cWhether it is impeachment or investigation, I will face it confidently,\u201d Yoon stated during a televised address, referencing both the impeachment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2163,4107,4108,4198,4212,1194],"class_list":["post-6681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","tag-democratic-party-dp","tag-impeachment","tag-martial-law","tag-people-power-party-ppp","tag-president-yoon-suk-yeol","tag-south-korea"],"yoast_head":"\n