South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday looked increasingly likely to be unseated after the head of his ruling party demanded he be stripped of office for briefly imposing martial law.
If Yoon remains, “there is a significant risk that extreme actions similar to the martial law declaration could be repeated, which could put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger,” said Han Dong-Hoon, the head of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP).
Opposition MPs were holed up in parliament until a vote on Yoon’s impeachment scheduled for Saturday evening, fearing the embattled president might launch one desperate final attempt to remain in power.
“With the impeachment vote set for tomorrow, the hours leading up to it are extremely precarious,” opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung told AFP. “Tonight will be the most critical period,” he said at the National Assembly, where according to an aide buses have been strategically parked to stop helicopters from landing.
‘Great danger’
Yoon declared martial law late Tuesday and sent soldiers and choppers to the parliament in a doomed bid to stop MPs from voting down his suspension of civilian government.
The opposition on Wednesday put forward the impeachment motion — now scheduled for a vote around 5:00pm (0800 GMT) Saturday, after it was brought forward two hours — but Han initially said he would oppose it.
On Friday, however, the once staunchly loyal head of Yoon’s PPP broke with the president.
“Considering the newly emerging facts, I believe that a swift suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s duties is necessary to safeguard the Republic of Korea and its people,” said Han.
Protests
Police expect tens of thousands of people to attend anti-Yoon rallies on Saturday ahead of the impeachment vote, which needs a two-thirds majority. Organisers are hoping 200,000 people will take to the streets.
The opposition bloc holds 192 seats in the 300-strong parliament, while the PPP has 108. A successful vote would suspend Yoon from office pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court.
Han’s U-turn was “significantly influenced by the gravity of the situation, particularly the mobilisation of intelligence agencies to arrest politicians,” Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP.
A fresh opinion poll released Friday put backing for the 63-year-old president, who has lurched from crisis to crisis since taking office in 2022, at a record low of 13 per cent.
On Friday night, at least 15,000 anti-Yoon protesters braved the cold weather to gather in Seoul’s Yeouido district, where the National Assembly is located. They held candles and signs that read “Yoon Suk Yeol should resign (for) crimes of insurrection” while calling for his arrest.