Korean president apologizes for martial law as thousands demand his removal

The South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeolapologized this Saturday to the South Korean people for the martial law that shocked the country last Tuesday night, and stated that he will leave his power and the stabilization of the political situation in the hands of his party.

“I sincerely apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to citizens,” Yoon said in a brief speech made this Saturday from the presidential office and broadcast by national media, in his first public appearance since martial law was lifted in the early hours of Wednesday.

“The declaration of martial law was made out of a sense of urgency as president, who is ultimately responsible for state affairs,” said the president, who added that “will not evade the legal or political responsibilities derived from that decision”.

Yoon also said that “there will never be a declaration of a second martial law,” after the day before various voices warned about movements within the Army that pointed to a new state of exception, which led senior officials to announce that they would not accept that measure and opposition deputies to take turns to remain in parliament for much of the day.

The president also announced that he will leave “the stabilization of the political situation, including its mandate, in the hands of the party“, in the face of growing political and social pressure for him to abandon his position, and a few hours before the National Assembly votes this Saturday on a motion to dismiss him.

For the parliamentary initiative to prosper, the support of two-thirds of the chamber is required, which means that the opposition bloc (which has clear parliamentary majority with 192 seats) will need to have at least eight additional votes among the 108 that the ruler has People Power Party (PPP) by Yoon.

Although this force has criticized the president for resorting to martial law without sufficient justification, the political line of supporting the president to remain in power was also initially marked.

But Han Dong-hoonthe head of the party, called the day before for the “immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk-yeol from his duties with a view to protecting the Republic of Korea (the official name of the country) and its people.”

Han also stated this Saturday that an “early resignation” of Yoon “is inevitable” and added that the party will deliberate the best way to proceed, before the parliamentary vote scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local time.