Seoul, December 7 (IANS). South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized to the people of the country on Saturday. He said he sincerely regrets the martial law imposed earlier this week. Along with this he promised that he would not make any such attempt again.
“I am deeply sorry for this. I sincerely apologize to those who were hurt by my decision,” Yoon said in a televised public address hours before the parliamentary vote on the impeachment motion against him, Yonhap news agency reported. “
Yun made this comment publicly for the first time after declaring martial law on Tuesday night. He reversed the decision after six hours on Tuesday (3 December 2023). Just before this the National Assembly had voted against him.
In his address the President said that he had imposed martial law out of “frustration” as president.
He acknowledged that the sudden decision had caused “concern and inconvenience” to people.
Yun said, “I will not shirk my legal and political responsibility for this declaration of martial law. There is talk of reintroducing martial law, but let me make it clear that there will never be a second martial law.”
He said, ‘My fellow citizens, I will hand over my tenure to my party to stabilize the country. In future, my party and government will be solely responsible for the management of the country’s affairs. I would like to once again bow my head and apologize for the trouble caused to the people.
Yun was elected for a five-year term in May 2022.
South Korean lawmakers are preparing to introduce a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
However, it is not clear whether the proposal presented by opposition MPs will get the required two-thirds majority.
On Friday, leaders of Yun’s own party called for his constitutional powers to be suspended. Said that now he is not capable of continuing on this post.
Yoon is facing increasing pressure on the president to step down after he shocked the country by imposing martial law to root out “anti-state forces”. He had accused the opposition of paralyzing government functioning with impeachment motions and proposed budget cuts.
The opposition faction, which has a total of 192 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, is scheduled to vote on his impeachment motion at around 5 pm. The motion requires at least eight votes from the ruling party, which has 108 seats.
After a two-minute address, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, reiterated calls for Yoon’s immediate resignation and impeachment.
PPP leader Han Dong-hoon also called for Yoon’s resignation, raising questions about his ability to govern.
–IANS
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