Seoul – Undeterred by mounting criticism, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday strongly criticized his political opponents, calling them “anti-state forces,” and vowed to continue his fight against impeachment efforts.
“I will fight to the end,” President Yoon declared in a lengthy televised address. “Whether they impeach me or investigate me, I will face it all squarely.” The president, who claimed North Korea had interfered in the country’s elections, defended his controversial martial law declaration as a legal move to protect democracy. He also accused the opposition of attempting to remove a democratically elected president by “dancing the sword dance of madness.”
These comments came after Yoon’s earlier apology on Saturday, in which he had promised to leave his fate in the hands of his political allies. His remarks coincide with a statement from the leader of his ruling People Power Party (PPP), Han Dong-hoon, who suggested that Yoon should either resign or face impeachment. “I propose we adopt a vote for impeachment as party policy… His address was akin to confessing to insurrection,” Han said, signaling that the president is losing his hold on power.
Yoon is facing a second impeachment vote in parliament, expected on Saturday, following the failure of an initial vote last week due to a boycott by most members of his party. If the impeachment is successful, the case will proceed to the Constitutional Court, potentially leaving South Korea’s political landscape in limbo for up to six months.
In addition to the impeachment threat, Yoon is under criminal investigation for alleged insurrection related to his December 3 martial law declaration, which he rescinded just hours later. This move sparked South Korea’s most significant political crisis in decades.
Yoon further justified his martial law declaration by claiming that “criminal groups” had paralyzed state affairs and disrupted the rule of law. Although he referred to the opposition Democratic Party as the source of these disruptions, he provided no evidence of criminal activity.
The president also addressed an alleged hack by North Korea into the National Election Commission (NEC) last year, which he claimed was detected by intelligence agents but downplayed by the commission. Yoon suggested that the hack had compromised the integrity of the April 2024 elections—an election in which his party suffered a heavy defeat. However, the NEC denied any manipulation, stating that election tampering was “effectively impossible.”
Despite Yoon’s martial law declaration, which led to troops entering the election commission’s server room, the outcome of the April election saw the Democratic Party gaining overwhelming control of the National Assembly. To impeach Yoon, the opposition needs the support of at least eight members from his own party.
Defending his martial law decision, Yoon called it a “symbolic” move to expose a supposed opposition plot to “completely destroy the country” and undermine the country’s alliance with the U.S.
