SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lashed out at his political opponents as “anti-state forces”, said North Korea may have hacked the country’s elections, and defended last week’s short-lived martial law order as a legal move to protect democracy.
His comments on Thursday (Dec 12) came as the leader of Yoon’s own party said the president had shown no signs of resigning and must be impeached.
In a televised address, Yoon said the opposition had pushed the country into a “national crisis”.
“The National Assembly, dominated by the large opposition party, has become a monster that destroys the constitutional order of liberal democracy,” he said.
Facing an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, Yoon vowed to “fight with the people until the very last minute”.
“I apologise again to the people who must have been surprised and anxious due to the martial law,” he said.
“Please trust me in my warm loyalty to the people.”
He added that he would “not avoid legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law”.
South Korea’s ruling party leader, Han Dong-hoon, said on Thursday that Yoon should be immediately suspended from his duties after declaring the short-lived martial law last week.
Han said the only way to do so is for the ruling party lawmakers to vote for impeachment.
Yoon is banned from foreign travel as part of an “insurrection” probe into his inner circle over the dramatic events of Dec 3-4 that stunned South Korea’s allies.
A probe into last week’s events has swiftly gathered pace, with police on Wednesday attempting to raid Yoon’s office to investigate his brief imposition of martial law.
