The South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, could put citizens in “great danger” if he is not suspended, the head of the ruling party said on Friday, increasing the likelihood that parliament will vote to impeach Yoon over Tuesday’s failed martial law declaration.
“[If] President Yoon continues to hold the office of the presidency, 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,” the head of the People Power party, Han Dong-hoon, told an emergency party leadership meeting.
As the atmosphere remained heated, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung meanwhile warned that Yoon may make another attempt to declare martial law before parliament votes on his impeachment on Saturday. Yoon’s office said the reports were untrue.
Yoon shocked the country and his own party on Tuesday when he announced he was imposing martial law in order to root out “anti-state forces” and overcome obstructionist political opponents.
He reversed course about six hours later after parliament, including some members of his party, voted to oppose the decree. He is due to face an impeachment vote on Saturday.
On Friday, the head of South Korean special forces, Commander Kwak Jong-geun, said he had been ordered to “drag out” lawmakers from parliament on the night martial law was declared.
Han said he had confirmed that Yoon had directed the arrest of key political figures during the brief martial law period, relying on high school connections that are widely believed to be part of a larger alleged network of influence.
South Korean prosecutors are investigating the president and other key officials including former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and interior minister Lee Sang-min over the martial law declaration. Police are conducting a separate parallel investigation.
Phone records released on Friday show that then-defence minister Kim called interior minister Lee hours before the martial law announcement – the only call between the two officials from 1-4 December.
Kim tendered his resignation on Wednesday, saying he considered himself responsible for the crisis that the martial law decree had created.
The main opposition Democratic party has scheduled an impeachment vote for the president on Saturday evening, and the national police have launched an investigation into Yoon after an opposition party and activists filed allegations of insurrection.
On Thursday, the ruling party said it was against impeachment, but Han suggested that stance may be shifting in light of “credible evidence” that Yoon had intended to arrest and detain political leaders at Gwacheon, just south of Seoul.
“I said yesterday that I would try not to pass this impeachment in order to prevent damage to the people and supporters caused by the unprepared chaos, but I believe that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s immediate suspension of office is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people in light of the newly revealed facts,” Han said.
He did not explicitly call for impeachment or respond to reporters when asked for clarification.
“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,” Han said.
Han said Yoon had not taken any personnel actions against military officials who had “illegally intervened”.
“Furthermore, he does not acknowledge that this illegal martial law is wrong,” he said.
This alleged clique being linked to the martial law declaration has been dubbed the “Choongam faction” because those suspected of involvement all graduated from Choongam high school in Seoul. In South Korea, school connections - particularly relationships between seniors and juniors from the same institution - often remain influential throughout graduates’ careers, and are seen as crucial networks in life.
It has drawn comparisons to South Korea’s notorious Hanahoe group – a military circle formed by graduates of the same military academy that underpinned the dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan in the 1980s.
Alleged key players in this week’s martial law declaration, including Kim and Lee, and defence counterintelligence chief Yeo In-hyeong, are all Choongam graduates.
The existence of an influential Choongam network had been previously denied by Kim during his confirmation hearing in September. When questioned by opposition lawmakers, he also explicitly rejected the possibility of martial law being declared, calling it inappropriate for modern times.
Meanwhile, Lee stated on Thursday that he had never attended any any gatherings of Choongam graduates when questioned about the alleged clique.
Han was previously regarded as a close associate of Yoon as they spent years working together as prosecutors and he served as Yoon’s first justice minister. But after Han entered party politics and became PPP leader, their ties soured badly.
Han leads a minority faction within the ruling party, and 18 lawmakers in his faction voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Yoon’s martial law decree.
The PPP was holding an enlarged meeting with rank-and-file lawmakers to discuss Yoon’s impeachment.
Cho Kyoung-tae, a senior ruling party lawmaker who supports Yoon’s impeachment, told reporters that each party lawmaker must decide “whether they want to take the people’s side or become collaborators of martial law forces.”
Others however said they did not want a repeat of the 2016 impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye, which triggered the implosion of the conservative Grand National party and a victory by liberals in presidential and general elections.
Yoon Sang-hyun, a five-time ruling party lawmaker, said he still opposed impeachment.
“We cannot impeach the president tomorrow and hand over the regime to Lee Jae-Myung’s Democratic party. It is not for the sake of protecting President Yoon Suk Yeol, but for the sake of the Republic of Korea’s system and our children’s future. I cannot participate in the impeachment of the president tomorrow,” Yoon told reporters.
Ahn Gwi-ryeong, a spokesperson for the opposition Democratic party, said she believed the people had already psychologically impeached Yoon.
The Democratic party leader, Lee Jae-myung, said the declaration of martial law was a rebellion waged by the president in order to maintain or extend his power.
“It’s an act of insurrection,” he said. “It’s a pro-military coup.”
Fearing another attempt to declare martial law, opposition lawmakers were rotating through parliament’s plenary session hall to block any such attempt, a Democratic party official said.
“While there may still be a few ruling party members supporting Yoon Suk Yeol, it seems that Han’s statements today are significantly influenced by the gravity of the situation, particularly the mobilisation of intelligence agencies to arrest politicians,” Shin Yul, professor of political science at Myongji University, told Agence France-Presse.
“It appears that Han and the party leaders have concluded there is actually a significant possibility that President Yoon may declare a second martial law.”
With Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
