SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – NOVEMBER 7: South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol attends the state press conference at the Blue House on November 7, 2024.
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol on Thursday lashed out at his political rivals as “anti-national forces”, saying North Korea hacked the country’s elections and defended its brief martial law as a legitimate step to protect democracy.
His comments on Thursday came as leaders of Yoon’s own party said the president showed no signs of resigning and must be impeached.
He is expected to face a second impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, a week after the first failed when most of the ruling party boycotted the vote.
“I will fight to the end,” he said near the end of a lengthy televised speech.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for alleged rebellion over the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, which triggered South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades.
Lawmakers broke through police cordons, some climbing over fences, to enter parliament and demand that Yoon abolish martial law within hours of announcing it.
In comments responding to his reasons for declaring a state of emergency in the first place, he said a takeover of the government by “criminal groups” that paralyze state affairs and undermine the rule of law must be prevented at all costs.
Yoon said the country’s National Election Commission was attacked by North Korean hackers last year, but the independent agency refused to cooperate with investigations and inspections of its systems to maintain integrity.
He said the rejection was enough to raise questions about the integrity of the April 2024 elections and lead him to declare martial law.
Yoon’s People’s Power Party (PPP) suffered a crushing defeat in April’s election, giving the Democratic Party a landslide control of the unicameral parliament. Even so, the opposition would need eight members of the party to join them in voting to impeach the president.
Just before Mr Yoon’s televised speech, People’s Party leader Han Dong-hoon said Mr Yoon must be stripped of his powers and the only way to achieve this was for the party to support an impeachment bill.
