Threatened with dismissal after his failed attempt to impose martial law, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was dropped by his own party on Friday. The latter judged that he posed “great danger” to the country and recommended his “rapid suspension”.
Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People’s Power Party (PPP) to which the head of state belongs, reconsidered his position on Friday, after having affirmed the day before that his party would defeat the impeachment motion filed by the opposition in Parliament.
If Yoon Suk Yeol remains in his post, “there is a significant risk that extreme actions similar to the declaration of martial law will be repeated, which could put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger,” he said. he declared during a televised speech.
Leaders targeted by attempted arrest
Han Dong-hoon also said he had “evidence” that the president had ordered the arrest of political leaders on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, when he declared martial law, before renouncing it under pressure from deputies and the street.
According to opposition lawmaker Jo Seung-lae, footage from Parliament’s surveillance cameras indicates that the military sought to arrest the leader of the Democratic Party (the main opposition force), Lee Jae-myung, the president of the National Assembly, Woo Won-shik, and even Han Dong-hoon.
The president has disappeared from the public scene
Yoon Suk Yeol’s office assured that the latter had “not given the order to arrest or detain members of the National Assembly”, according to the Yonhap agency. If the president does not resign before then, South Korea’s unicameral Parliament will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. (10 a.m. GMT) to decide on his impeachment. A two-thirds majority of 300 deputies is needed to oust him from power.
If the motion is approved, the head of state will be suspended from office pending validation of his dismissal by the Constitutional Court. If the judges give the green light, a new presidential election will take place within 60 days. The interim would then be taken over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The president, who has disappeared from the public scene since Wednesday morning, is also the target of an investigation for “rebellion”.