Chances of impeachment grow as ruling party leader calls for suspension of president's power
People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon is surrounded by reporters at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon stressed Friday the urgent need to swiftly suspend President Yoon Suk Yeol's powers and duties in order to protect Korea and its people, virtually supporting impeachment of the president following Yoon's bungled martial law declaration.
The shift in stance by Han, who initially said until the previous day that his party would make efforts to prevent impeachment, has significantly increased the likelihood of the impeachment motion passing at the National Assembly's plenary session on Saturday.
During an emergency PPP Supreme Council meeting at the Assembly in Seoul earlier in the day, Han said his party has confirmed, through credible evidence, that Yoon instructed then-Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung, who is Yoon's high school junior, to arrest prominent political figures on charges of being anti-national forces. Han was allegedly one of them.
"It has been confirmed that the president used military intelligence agencies to arrest these politicians. We have also learned that there were specific plans to imprison these politicians at a detention facility in Gwacheon (of Gyeonggi Province)," Han said during the meeting.
"I had previously pledged to work against the impeachment drive to avoid chaos and protect the people and supporters, but given the new facts emerging, I now believe it is necessary to immediately suspend the president’s duties to safeguard the Republic of Korea and its people."
Han also criticized President Yoon for failing to take action against the military officials who participated in the martial law operation.
"The president has not even acknowledged the illegality of the martial law declaration," he continued. "If Yoon remains in office, there is a high risk of repeating extreme actions like the recent martial law, which could place Korea and its people in grave danger."
Along with Han's announcement, two high-profile PPP lawmakers have stated their open support of impeachment.
For the impeachment motion to be passed, it requires the approval of at least two-thirds of Assembly members, meaning at least 200 out of the total 300. As 192 members belong to the opposition parties, at least eight PPP members' approval is needed.
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, delivers a special statement on the fallout of the martial law situation at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, also confirmed Friday that there were orders to arrest Han and others. He told lawmakers of the Assembly's National Defense Committee that Yoon directly ordered him to arrest key politicians right after declaring martial law.
According to Hong, Yoon told him "to take this as an opportunity to arrest and remove them all." Then the former counterintelligence commander called to give him the list of the politicians, which included Han, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party leader Rep. Cho Kuk, among others.
Regarding Han's change of stance to support the impeachment, the DPK leader welcomed it, stating that it is better late than never.
"I urge the PPP to respect the will of the people and not drift away from the course of history," Lee said in a special statement.
Saying Yoon misused his power to solidify his position, Lee said, "We need to remove him from duty as soon as possible, and take steps of investigation, arrest, indictment and punishment."
Later in the day, Yoon and Han held a closed-door meeting at the presidential residence upon Yoon's request.
According to political sources, chief presidential secretary Chung Jin-suk also attended the meeting.
President Yoon Suk Yeol and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, center, hold talks at the presidential office in Seoul, Oct. 21. Courtesy of presidential office
After the meeting, Han reportedly told ruling party lawmakers that the president hadn't given any indication that this decision should be reversed, adding that he still believes that Yoon must be suspended from his duties.
Han also reportedly mentioned that the president told him that he had not given any instructions to arrest politicians.
"It seems that the president is not considering any special follow-up measures," Han told lawmakers of his party during their meeting at the National Assembly.
During their previous meeting on Wednesday, hours after the lifting of martial law, Yoon was said to have asserted that the move was aimed to prevent the DPK's reckless impeachment actions against government officials, and emphasized that he has done nothing wrong.
Former Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun delivers a congratulatory speech during a commissioning ceremony in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Nov. 29. Yonhap
Meanwhile, then-Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun explained the situation during the martial law period in a YouTube video.
On the show hosted by Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the DPK, Kwak stated that former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the martial law declaration, ordered the removal of lawmakers from the Assembly and that's why troops were dispatched there.
"I became aware of the martial law declaration through media reports. (I was just told that) about 20 minutes before the public announcement, the former defense minister instructed us to prepare for a situation," he said.
"It was clear that forcibly removing lawmakers would constitute an illegal act, and those carrying out such orders would bear legal responsibility. I did not issue such orders, despite knowing that this could constitute disobedience. Rather, I instructed the special forces against entering the main chamber (of the Assembly where lawmakers were voting to repeal martial law)," he further explained.
The former commander said he explicitly ordered that live ammunition should not be distributed to the forces to protect the safety of people at the Assembly.
Regarding the troops' entry into the Assembly building by breaking a window, Kwak said they chose to enter that way to avoid harming the people who were blocking them.
When asked whether he received direct orders from Yoon, Kwak said he received a single call asking about the battalion's location.
"There will be no further declarations of martial law," he pledged. "Even if such orders were issued, I would refuse to carry them out."
Regarding the current situation, the defense ministry suspended the duties for some senior military officers, including Kwak and Yeo, at around 4 p.m. Friday.