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December 6, 2024 | 11:53 pm
TEMPO.CO, Seoul - South Korea's ruling party leader said President Yoon Suk Yeol needed to be removed from power for trying to impose martial law, increasing the pressure on him to quit even though members of his People Power Party late on Friday reaffirmed its formal opposition to his impeachment.
On Saturday, lawmakers will vote on the main opposition Democratic Party's motion to impeach Yoon, who shocked the nation late on Tuesday when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers in order to root out what he called "anti-state forces" and overcome obstructionist political opponents.
Yoon rescinded the declaration about six hours later after parliament, including some members of his party, voted to oppose the decree.
The conservative PPP has vowed to oppose the impeachment bill, a position it reaffirmed on Friday night following a lengthy meeting of its lawmakers - at least some of whom would need to back it for the motion to succeed. Yoon said he would listen to the party's concerns, a PPP spokesperson told reporters.
Acting Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho said reports that had swirled throughout Friday that there might be another attempt to impose martial law were not true.
PPP leader Han had earlier added fuel to those rumors and suggested the party's stance on impeachment might be shifting when he said there was "a high risk of extreme actions such as this emergency martial law being repeated" while Yoon remained in power.
He also cited "credible evidence" that Yoon had on Tuesday intended to arrest and detain political leaders at Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, and called for Yoon's "immediate suspension". He did not explicitly call for impeachment or respond to reporters when asked for clarification.
The presidential office later denied any such order to arrest prominent politicians had been given, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-Myung said there was still a possibility of another spontaneous late-night declaration by Yoon, though he did not offer substantive evidence.
"The situation is getting worse, there are fewer ways (for Yoon) to escape," Lee told Reuters in an interview. "That's why it's very dangerous tonight because the only chance he has is tonight and tomorrow morning".
Some PPP members urged Yoon to resign before the vote, saying they did not want a repeat of the 2016 impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye, who left office following months of candlelit protests over an influence-peddling scandal. Her downfall triggered the implosion of the party and a victory by liberals in presidential and general elections.
In scenes reminiscent of those protests, thousands of demonstrators holding candles assembled outside parliament on Friday night demanding Yoon's impeachment.
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