South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has defended his attempt to impose martial law in the country last week, promising to “stand firm” if he is impeached or investigated.
In an unannounced televised address on Thursday, Yoon made it clear that he has no intention of resigning ahead of a second vote to impeach him in the National Assembly this weekend.
“I will stand firm whether I am impeached or investigated,” he insisted. “I will fight to the end.”
According to the president, his decision to impose martial law last Tuesday was based on a “highly calibrated political judgment.”
Yoon insisted he made the move “to protect the nation and normalize state affairs” as the opposition tried to paralyze the government.
The decision to impose martial law was reversed after less than six hours, as MPs voted against it and thousands took to the streets to protest. Yoon is currently banned from leaving the country after the police launched an investigation into possible insurrection.
The president again accused his political rivals from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) of “siding” with North Korea amid Pyongyang's development of a nuclear program and missile threats.
“I do not know which country the party belongs to and which country the National Assembly belongs to,” Yoon said.
The opposition is now “creating a lot of false incitement to drag the president down by creating the crime of treason,” he claimed.
The president also apologized to South Koreans who “might have been surprised and nervous due to the short-lived martial law” and assured them of his “passionate loyalty” to them.
Shortly before Yoon’s address, his own People Power Party (PPP), which previously rejected calls to impeach him and thwarted the first vote on the issue by boycotting it, announced that its attempts to persuade the head of state to step down voluntarily have been in vain.
“We tried to find a better way than impeachment, but that other way is invalid,” PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said. “Suspending the president from his duties through impeachment is the only way for now, to defend democracy and the republic.”
A study, published by the Realmeter pollster on Wednesday found that 74.8% of South Koreans believe that Yoon should leave office immediately, either by announcing his resignation or through impeachment.