Yoon refuses to resign, blames martial law on ‘monstrous’ opposition
(The Korea Herald/ANN) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday rejected calls for his resignation, asserting that his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 was both an inevitable and legitimate decision made by the head of state, marking another unexpected development that clearly dismissed the ruling party’s “orderly resignation” scenario.
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President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during an address to the nation in his office on Thursday. --Photo Presidential office |
Yoon said in the 29-minute address, televised at around 9:40 am, that he pledged to withstand his ordeals until the end, demonstrating his will to respond legally to impeachment proceedings and investigations.
“No matter whether it is an impeachment or an investigation that’s ahead of me, I will boldly confront them,” he said, overturning his Dec. 7 promise that he would delegate his power to the ruling party and government.
In a fourth national address in the past two weeks, the beleaguered president said his declaration of martial law was based on “a highly political judgment by the president” to protect the nation and normalise the government.
The president’s declaration of martial law is a sovereign act, not subject to judicial review, similar to actions such as presidential pardons and foreign diplomacy, he said.
Any view that his emergency measure was an act of insurrection poses “a serious threat to our Constitution and legal system, as pointed out by many constitutional scholars and lawyers,” he added, without elaborating who these experts were.
The martial law Yoon declared on Dec. 3 was intended to serve as a warning to opposition parties, whom he described as “monstrous,” “a group of criminals” and an “unconstitutional force,” and to inform the people of “anti-state” activities by the opposition parties.
Insisting that a “two-hour martial law” cannot be accused of being an act of insurrection, Yoon said that fewer than 300 troops were dispatched to the National Assembly for “the security of the people” there, and that he ordered them not to be armed and to withdraw as soon as the National Assembly voted to lift martial law.
“If I had wanted to paralyse the functions of the National Assembly, I would have declared a state of emergency on a weekend, not on a weekday,” he added. “I would have taken measures to cut off power and water to the National Assembly building and restrict broadcast transmission. But none of that happened.”
Following Yoon’s address, National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik said in a statement Thursday he was “devastated” and that the president’s assertion should not be tolerated.
“(Yoon’s claim of) declaring martial law to send a warning sign to the National Assembly can never be tolerated, because it suggests that democracy and constitutional order can be sabotaged for political goals, and people’s basic rights can be sacrificed for certain political goals,” Woo noted.
Woo proposed an immediate meeting of the ruling People Power Party’s Floor Leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong and his counterpart from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Park Chan-dae, to “clear instability in the country.”
In his address, Yoon repeatedly accused the opposition parties of “abusing power” in that they had brought forward a series of “unconstitutional measures” that made it difficult for him to sit by and watch.
“I thought I could not just sit back and watch anymore,” Yoon said, contending that his use of executive power was within the constitutional framework.
“The current state of national paralysis, caused by social unrest and the collapse of administrative and judicial functions, has been deemed a sufficient justification for the declaration of martial law.”
Yoon also disclosed he had ordered then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to look into the vulnerability of the National Election Commission on the occasion of the martial law imposition.
He said election authorities had refused to comply with the Yoon administration’s request to inspect the internal system last year in the wake of North Korean hacks, despite revelations from the National Intelligence Service of security vulnerabilities. The NEC has cited immunity from outside investigation under the Constitution.
In the meantime, Yoon censured the opposition parties for wielding their legislative power to block changes in law that would allow for the punishment of spying activities by foreign nationals, taking sides with North Korea and unilaterally moving to cut budget items he said were essential for the economic growth of the country.
Yoon also claimed that the opposition parties are rushing to impeach him and pushing for an early presidential election as the conviction of the main opposition party’s leader Lee Jae-myung looms.
Lee is facing multiple trials for separate offenses, any of which could end up disqualifying him from running for president.
By Times Reporters
(Latest Update December 11, 2024) |