South Korean President Yoon Sook-yeol on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, even as critics demanded Yoon step down over his aborted attempt to impose martial law Tuesday.
Kim reportedly proposed the ill-fated declaration of martial law to Yoon, who stunned the world and plunged Seoul into chaos by issuing the order on Tuesday night, local time. The National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament, defied Yoon’s orders by barricading itself inside the assembly chamber and voting to lift martial law within a matter of hours.
Yoon declared martial law because he claimed the legislature had been infiltrated by “subversive anti-state elements” that were paralyzing his administration and blocking his agenda, all for the benefit of “North Korean communist forces.” He had deployed police and military forces around the National Assembly building in an unsuccessful attempt to keep legislators from voting.
Yoon also accused the opposition Democratic Party (DP) of cutting funding for police and the courts to thwart investigations into party leader Lee Jae-myung. The DP, in turn, accused Yoon of declaring martial law to block investigations into high officials of his People Power Party (PPP), including himself and his wife.
Kim is the first high-ranking Yoon ally to tender his resignation. Rumors swirled in Seoul that other top officials in the administration would resign, but so far they have not done so.
At a press briefing on Thursday morning, Yoon’s chief of staff Chung Jin-suk introduced retired four-star general Choi Byung-hyuk as the new defense minister. Choi served as deputy commander of the combined U.S.-South Korean command from 2019-2020.
South Korean civic groups on Thursday called for Yoon to step down as well, including members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of South Korea’s largest labor organizations.
Protesters marched through Seoul on Thursday carrying banners that declared the nullification of martial law a “victory for democracy” and demanded the “immediate arrest” of “treasonous criminal Yoon Suk-yeol and his accomplices.”
“We must take down President Yoon, who turned the clock of the Republic of Korea back 44 years, and make him pay for the terrifying 155 minutes,” the protesters chanted. The last declaration of martial law in South Korea was 44 years ago, at a time when the government was authoritarian in character.
DP leaders came up short of formally demanding Yoon’s arrest, but they did call on him to step down from the presidency, arguing that his martial law order “destroyed the spirit of the Constitution entirely.”
Five members of Yoon’s PPP party on Thursday proposed a constitutional amendment to shorten the presidential term, which they presented as an “orderly resolution” to the political crisis.
“This is an essential step to prevent political paralysis and national division caused by impeachment,” the five PPP lawmakers said.
The five called on Yoon to “issue a sincere apology to the public” and demanded “a swift investigation and punishment for all individuals responsible for this incident.”
“The president inflicted an indelible wound on our citizens, who have endured a history of democratic suppression and the trauma of human rights abuses. No justification from the president or the ruling party can rationalize this martial law declaration,” they said.
The five said they have “not yet decided” on whether they might support an impeachment resolution advanced by the opposition DP or not.
PPP leader Han Dong-hoon on Thursday said he has asked President Yoon to leave the party, but he also said he would block DP’s impeachment motion, which is tentatively scheduled for a vote on Saturday.
DP has a hefty majority in the National Assembly, but Han can block impeachment if he can hold all but a few PPP lawmakers together. If the impeachment bill passes, it must still be approved by the South Korean Constitutional Court before taking effect.
“All 108 lawmakers of the People Power Party will stay united to reject the president’s impeachment,” PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho declared on Thursday.
DP has also filed a criminal complaint of “insurrection” against Yoon, several of his ministers, and police officials who complied with the martial law order. If convicted, the penalty for insurrection could be life in prison, or even execution.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law “raised deep concern” for the U.S. government, and “raised alarm bells everywhere” around the world.
Sullivan praised South Korean legislators for acting “according to constitutional processes and procedures” to nullify Yoon’s order.
“South Korea’s democracy is robust and resilient, and we’re going to continue to speak out publicly and engage privately with South Korean counterparts to reinforce the importance of that continuing,” he said.
