South Korea on brink of crisis as ouster looms over President Yoon

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, on Friday, looked increasingly likely to be unseated after the head of his ruling party demanded that he be stripped of office for briefly imposing martial law.

If Yoon remains, “there is a significant risk that extreme actions similar to the martial law declaration could be repeated, which could put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger,” said Han Dong-hoon, the head of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP).

Opposition MPs were holed up in parliament until a vote on Yoon’s impeachment scheduled for Saturday evening, fearing the embattled president might launch one desperate final attempt to remain in power.

“With the impeachment vote set for tomorrow, the hours leading up to it are extremely precarious,” opposition leader Lee Jae-myung told AFP.

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Yoon declared martial law late Tuesday and sent soldiers and choppers to the parliament in a doomed bid to stop MPs from voting down his suspension of civilian government.

On Wednesday, the opposition put forward the impeachment motion - now scheduled for a vote around 5pm (0800 GMT) Saturday, after it was brought forward two hours - but Han initially said he would oppose it.

On Friday, however, the once staunchly loyal head of Yoon’s PPP broke with the president.

“Considering the newly emerging facts, I believe that a swift suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s duties is necessary to safeguard the Republic of Korea and its people,” said Han.

Protests

Police expect tens of thousands of people to attend anti-Yoon rallies on Saturday ahead of the impeachment vote, which needs a two-thirds majority.

Organisers are hoping 200,000 people will take to the streets.

The opposition bloc holds 192 seats in the 300-strong parliament, while the PPP has 108. A successful vote would suspend Yoon from office pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

Han’s U-turn was “significantly influenced by the gravity of the situation, particularly the mobilisation of intelligence agencies to arrest politicians,” Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP.

A fresh opinion poll released Friday put backing for the 63-year-old president, who has lurched from crisis to crisis since taking office in 2022, at a record low of 13 percent.

On Friday night, at least 15,000 anti-Yoon protesters braved the cold weather to gather in Seoul’s Yeouido district, where the National Assembly is located.

They held candles and signs that read “Yoon Suk Yeol should resign (for) crimes of insurrection” while calling for his arrest.

In nearby Gwanghwamun area, 47-year-old Seoul resident Kim Hye-ryeong told AFP that she was “very worried”.

“Regardless of what happens to President Yoon tomorrow, it seems that Korean politics will be quite chaotic for the foreseeable future,” she said.

 Anti-state elements

In his address to the nation late Tuesday, Yoon had said that martial law would “safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness”.

Security forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof, and almost 300 soldiers tried to lock down the building.

But as parliamentary staffers blocked the soldiers with sofas and fire extinguishers, enough MPs got inside - many climbed walls to enter- and voted down Yoon’s move.

The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea’s autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out via television.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Friday that he “expects the... democratic process to prevail”.

Insurrection

Han said Friday that “credible evidence” suggested that Yoon had ordered the detention of “key politicians” - something Yoon’s office has denied, the news agency Yonhap reported.

Opposition lawmaker Jo Seung-lae said that these included opposition leader Lee, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, and Han himself.

The head of South Korean special forces, Kwak Jong-geun, said Friday he had been ordered to “drag out” lawmakers from parliament.

And Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, said Yoon ordered him to work with a defence counterintelligence unit to arrest more than 10 key politicians.

A 120-strong police investigation team has been set up to probe Yoon and other top officials on charges of insurrection, police told AFP.

Police said they have confiscated the phones of the heads of the National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police, and the National Assembly Security Service.

On Thursday, Yoon’s office said Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun had resigned, but other key allies, including Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, remain in office.

Prosecutors have also banned Kim from leaving the country, Yonhap reported.

The defence ministry said Friday it had suspended three senior commanders involved in the martial law operation.