South Korea’s SEOUL As he is being investigated for potential rebellion charges related to the brief martial law declaration that threw the important U.S. ally into upheaval last week, the South Korean government on Monday banned President Yoon Suk Yeola from traveling abroad.
Yoon, 63, stunned the East Asian democracy Tuesday by declaring emergency martial law. He accused the opposition-controlled parliament of paralyzing the government and showing sympathy for communist North Korea, with whom South Korea is technically still at war, and opposition lawmakers are still working to impeach him. The news media was restricted and all political action was prohibited under the martial law regime.
Early on Wednesday, just six hours after he made the announcement, Yoon lifted the order, and lawmakers hurried to the National Assembly in central Seoul, pushing past martial rule forces to enter the chamber and vote overwhelmingly against it.
It was a startling change for South Korea, which had been ruled by a military dictatorship for decades before becoming a thriving democracy and the tenth-largest economy in the world. With the support of thousands of demonstrators, lawmakers promptly demanded that Yoon resign.
Following the huge departure of MPs from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP), which left the legislature without a quorum, an impeachment motion failed to pass on Saturday. In the 300-member unicameral legislature, the opposition bloc has 192 seats, which is eight seats shy of the two-thirds majority the bill needs to pass.
Yoon, who was elected in 2022 for a single five-year term, seems to have put his future in the hands of his conservative PPP in the interim.
Due to his unlawful actions, party chairman Han Dong-hoon declared on Sunday that Yoon had been essentially suspended from his position.
In a nationwide address, he declared, “I think it is the will of the majority of South Koreans that President Yoon Suk Yeol must resign.” He also promised to restore order by making sure Yoon left office early.
“In order to alleviate national and international concerns and restore the economy and the nation’s dignity, we will minimize confusion through an orderly resignation,” he stated.
He stated that in order to administer state affairs and public welfare without any disruptions, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will collaborate closely with the PPP in the interim.Yoon declared that he will not be involved in state matters, especially foreign policy.
Han added that authorities would conduct a thorough, unbiased, and open investigation into Yoon’s proclamation of martial law.
Even though the president is usually exempt from prosecution while in office, accusations of treason or insurrection are not included in this immunity.
Park Se-hyun, who is in charge of a special headquarters to look into Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law, announced on Sunday that Yoon had been charged with several offenses, including treason.
According to the procedure, an investigation is in progress, he informed reporters.
After turning himself in at around 1 a.m. Sunday local time (11 a.m. Saturday ET), former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, whose resignation Yoon accepted last week and who has been accused of proposing the martial law declaration to Yoon, became the first individual to be detained in the martial law case.
Lee Sang-min, the interior minister who is also being investigated, resigned on Sunday.
As is traditional in Korean culture, Prime Minister Han bowed his head to demonstrate his sincerity as he apologized to the public at a national address on Sunday, saying he felt a deep sense of responsibility for the situation.
According to him, the administration will focus all of its resources on resolving the current issue as quickly as possible, acting only on popular will.
Citing worries about the economy and global volatility, Han stated that maintaining the government’s continuity was the primary priority.
Along with maintaining its alliance with the United States, he said it was critical that South Korea, which is home to about 30,000 American troops, expand its trilateral security relations with the United States and neighboring Japan.
According to Han, the entire Cabinet would put up endless effort to maintain confidence with our partners.
Additionally, he urged the opposition to cooperate, stating that the legislature’s approval of the government’s planned budget was essential.
The prime minister’s and PPP’s response was deemed inadequate by the liberal opposition Democratic Party.
Senior Democratic member Kim Min-seok declared on Sunday that President Yoon Seok Yeol has to be detained, looked into, and deprived of his military command authority right away.
Kim also questioned whether the prime minister could continue to govern while Yoon was still in office under the constitution.
In a brief nationally televised speech on Saturday, Yoon expressed regret, stating that his actions were motivated by the urgency he felt as president but also acknowledging that they caused the public to feel anxious and inconvenienced.
He stated that his party will choose how long he should remain in government and how state matters should be run, but he did not suggest that he would step down.
Democratic Party MP and chief spokesman Han Min-soo stated that Yoon’s apology was insufficient. He claimed that Yoon was the leader of an uprising and that he would have to pay the price for it.
In an interview on Saturday, Han stated, “I no longer refer to him as the president.” In my opinion, Yoon Suk Yeol is currently employing ploys to buy time and mislead the opposition party and the people of South Korea.
“If we are stopped again, we will keep trying,” he added, adding that the Democratic Party would collaborate with other opposition parties to reintroduce the impeachment petition.
Even if they belong to the People Power Party, I still think that moral MPs will consent to the impeachment, he stated.
Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong, while Stella Kim and Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Seoul.
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