South Korean president’s refusal to step aside is ‘declaration of war’, says opposition leader

Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s main opposition leader, has said the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, the country’s president, is the best way to restore order in the country ahead of a second vote on Saturday.

He said Mr Yoon’s defiant speech on Thursday, during which he defended the short-lived martial law declaration he initiated last Tuesday, was “a declaration of war” against the people of South Korea.

“It proved that impeachment is the fastest and the most effective way to end the confusion,” Mr Lee said on Friday, urging all opposition lawmakers to join and vote to impeach Mr Yoon.

Mr Lee’s condemnation comes as South Korea’s National Assembly schedules another vote to impeach the president at 4pm on Saturday. Mr Yoon narrowly escaped the first impeachment attempt last Saturday after most lawmakers from his ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote.

However, at least seven PPP lawmakers have publicly said they would support the impeachment of Mr Yoon during Saturday’s vote, and at least 20 PPP lawmakers are set to take part in the vote – a stark contrast to last Saturday’s group walkout.

The National Assembly needs support from at least 200 lawmakers to pass the impeachment motion. This means that opposition parties, which hold a collective 192 seats, need at least eight PPP lawmakers to defect in order to impeach Mr Yoon.

Despite the growing likelihood of his impeachment, Mr Yoon defended his decision to impose martial law and rejected the insurrection charges. Instead, he accused opposition parties of being on “North Korea’s side” in a defiant speech Thursday.

He said the martial law declaration was an attempt to “protect the nation and normalise state affairs” because opposition parties had tried to “paralyse state affairs by abusing impeachment” and introducing controversial bills.

Mr Yoon said he would fairly confront impeachment and the martial law probe but vowed to fight until the end, erasing any hope for an “orderly and early” departure from the presidency, as the ruling party originally suggested last week.

While Mr Yoon tries to cling to the presidency, prosecution and law enforcement in South Korea continue their investigation into the short-lived martial law declaration. On Friday, police said they were considering filing an arrest warrant for Mr Yoon and beginning another raid of his residence.

The police tried to enter Mr Yoon’s office to search for materials related to the martial law declaration on Wednesday, but their attempt was obstructed after the security service refused to cooperate. The police said they are looking into possibly conducting another raid.

In addition to Mr Yoon, several top military commanders, including Kim Yong-hyun, the former defence minister, are being investigated and facing insurrection charges for participating in the martial law declaration. If found guilty, Mr Yoon and all those involved could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Civic organisations in South Korea plan to organise more large-scale protests ahead of Saturday’s vote and millions of South Korean citizens are expected to take part in protests across the country.

Apart from plunging South Korea into chaos, Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration has also raised concerns among some close allies, including the US and Japan. Lee Jae-gang, a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party, called on the international community to have faith in South Korea’s ability to restore order and stability.

He told The Telegraph: “President Yoon’s actions do not represent South Korea’s official stance, [and] I want to assure the international community that South Korea remains a nation committed to democratic values.”