South Korean president vows to fight removal
Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree and said he will not step down, despite impeachment efforts
What happened
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in televised remarks Wednesday he would not step down, despite urging from his party, and defended his six-hour imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. The brief attempt at military rule led to the arrest of Yoon's former defense minister and embroiled the president in criminal investigations and possible impeachment. Yoon has been barred from leaving the country.
Who said what
"I will fight to the end" to protect Korea from the "anti-state forces" and "criminal groups" responsible for "paralyzing" the government, Yoon said. He had apologized for his martial law decree on Saturday. But Wednesday Yoon said he had intended only to "borrow the format of martial law" to send a "warning" to the opposition Democratic Party to stop obstructing his agenda.
The opposition-controlled National Assembly tried to impeach Yoon on Saturday, but his People Power Party party boycotted the vote. PPP chair Han Dong-hoon Wednesday urged his party to support the next impeachment vote, scheduled for this Saturday. But the PPP's newly elected floor leader, Yoon ally Kwon Seong-dong, reiterated the party's stance against impeachment.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Seven PPP lawmakers have said they will vote to impeach Yoon, leaving the opposition just one vote short of the 200 needed.
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the deep of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
‘One day fentanyl will come back — and there will be little anyone can do’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump fears impeachment if GOP loses midtermsSpeed Read ‘You got to win the midterms,’ the president said
