Tag: politics

It looks like acting President Choi is trying to push a compromise between the KDP and the PPP which I doubt he is going to have much success with:

Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two out of three Constitutional Court justice nominees, Tuesday, as he presided over his first regular Cabinet meeting after assuming the role.

Choi took on the position following former acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Friday. Han was ousted for delaying the appointment of three Constitutional Court justice nominees who had won parliamentary approval on Thursday.

Choi appointed Jeong Gye-seon, nominated by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and Cho Han-chang, recommended by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but said he would hold off the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, nominated by the DPK, until rival parties reach a compromise.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is not too surprising of news:

The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Monday he is stepping down amid growing internal strife following the National Assembly’s vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon made the announcement during a press conference after an impeachment motion against Yoon was passed 204-85 on Saturday over his botched imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

The results showed 12 PPP lawmakers likely broke from their party line to vote in favor of impeachment. Han expressed support for Yoon’s impeachment Thursday despite his earlier calls for the president’s “orderly” exit.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Han Dong-hoon’s days as the leader of the PPP are limited:

The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) plans to hold a press conference on Monday, officials said Sunday, amid growing calls for his resignation after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached.

Earlier in the day, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon abruptly cancelled a press conference where he had been expected to announce his resignation.

Han will instead hold the presser at 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to PPP officials. 

Han had earlier vowed to continue his duties in response to calls for his resignation after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on Saturday.

He has since faced growing pressure to step down after all five elected members of the PPP’s Supreme Council expressed their intent to resign.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

When Yoon would not voluntarily step down after the aborted martial law attempt, his impeachment was inevitable:

The National Assembly passed a motion, Saturday, to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law declaration, with some lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party joining in support of his removal from office.

The impeachment motion against Yoon was put to a vote, with a total of 300 ballots cast: 204 in favor, 85 opposed, 3 abstentions, and 8 invalid votes.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but next the Constitutional Court will hold a trial to validate the impeachment. I have been saying since shortly after Yoon was elected that the Korean left would look for any reason to impeach him and he gift wrapped them a reason.

It looks like President Yoon’s days in office are coming to an end very soon now since he is now losign support from within his political party:

The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday threw his support behind a parliamentary vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed bid to impose martial law, while calling for convening an ethics committee to discuss whether to demand Yoon leave the party. 

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon made the call after Yoon defended the Dec. 3 martial law declaration as an act of governance and rejected insurrection charges against him in a public address. 

“The president’s duties must be swiftly straightened out and suspended through the impeachment process,” Han told reporters at the National Assembly in western Seoul. “Our party must support impeachment as the party line.”

Han said it has become “more clear” that Yoon is unable to carry out his duties as president, adding that his address came as a surprise.

The main opposition Democratic Party is set to file a new motion to impeach Yoon later in the day, after a parliamentary impeachment vote failed Saturday as the majority of PPP lawmakers boycotted it.

Earlier in the day, Han voiced support for Yoon’s impeachment, calling on lawmakers to vote on the next impeachment motion based on their own “conviction.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Whether the decree was legal or not, I believe declaring martial law sets a dangerous precedent that a future left wing President could use to get their way as well:

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday defended his botched martial law declaration as an act of governance and denied insurrection charges facing him, while vowing to fight until the last moment against whether it is impeachment or a martial law probe.

In a televised public address, Yoon said sending troops to the National Assembly during martial law can’t amount to insurrection, while defying calls to step down.

Yoon said he used his presidential power to declare martial law “to protect the nation and normalize state affairs” against the opposition that paralyzed the government, calling it a “highly calibrated political judgment.”

“Whether I am impeached or investigated, I will fairly confront it,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It seems like the major objective of the martial law decree was to prove election fraud. If fraud was going on it would seem any evidence would have been disposed of long ago. Additionally why wasn’t legal means taken against the National Election Commission instead of attempting a military raid?:

President Yoon Suk Yeol had conducted a legal review of last week’s martial law decree in person while rewriting it, the ex-defense minister, one of the key suspects in the alleged insurrection, said Wednesday.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was questioned by prosecutors at a detention facility for the first time since his arrest earlier in the day.

During the five-hour questioning, he reportedly testified that President Yoon conducted a legal review of the martial law declaration by himself, and that he and the president co-wrote the final draft, with Yoon editing part of the content.

Additionally, Kim is said to have assigned duties related to martial law to top military officials on Dec. 1 and attempted to access facilities connected to the National Election Commission to secure evidence concerning allegations of election fraud.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I still find it amazing that President Yoon was convinced that the military would go along with his martial law plan. Young Soldiers today in the ROK army grew up socialized against another Gwangju Uprising incident and want no part of being involved in one today:

The chief of the Army Special Warfare Command said Tuesday he was ordered by President Yoon Suk Yeol to drag out lawmakers from the National Assembly building during martial law operations last week.

Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun made the claim during a parliamentary defense committee meeting, saying Yoon called him on a secured phone.

“He said the quorum didn’t appear to be met yet, so I should break down the doors, and go in and drag out the people inside,” he said.

The commander was referring to the quorum for lifting Yoon’s martial law decree, which is 150 of the 300 members of parliament. Ultimately, 190 lawmakers voted unanimously to lift the order.

Kwak said he consulted with commanders in the field about whether to storm into the parliamentary building while firing blanks or cut off power to stop the lawmakers from voting.

The commanders advised against such actions, and Kwak said he agreed with their judgment.

“Even if they were to go inside to execute the order, the troops involved would later become lawbreakers and too many people would be injured if they broke their way in, so I judged it wasn’t right,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Lt. Gen. Kwak also said that President Yoon never told them use or fire their weapons.