South Korea’s ruling party chief has called for President Yoon Suk Yeol to “suspend his duties soon”, saying that citizens could be in “great danger” if he remained in power.
Han Doong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party (PPP), added that his party had received “credible evidence” that Yoon had ordered the arrest of key politicians on “anti-state charges” when he declared martial law on Tuesday night.
His comments, made at an emergency party meeting on Friday, are a departure from his earlier stand that his party would block the opposition’s impeachment motion, which was tabled on Wednesday.
The opposition needs at least eight ruling party MPs to back the impeachment motion for it to succeed.
Yoon shocked the country on Tuesday night when he declared emergency martial law, citing threats from “anti-state forces” and North Korea.
But it soon became clear that his move had been spurred not by external threats but by his own domestic political troubles.
The order was abruptly reversed hours later after 190 MPs managed to make it into the parliament and vote it down – some of them climbing fences and breaking barricades to get into the chamber.
Han on Friday expressed concerns that “extreme actions”, such as the martial law declaration, could be repeated if Yoon remained in office.
“[These are] putting the Republic of Korea and its people at great risk,” he said.
He added that his party had learnt about plans to jail arrested opposition politicians in a detention centre in Gwacheon, a city south of Seoul.
His comments are the first clear indication that the president’s own party may now vote with the opposition to help impeach him.
Opposition lawmakers are concerned that there will be another attempt to impose martial law. Some of them earlier told BBC they have been staying close to the National Assembly grounds so they could get there quickly to vote down any such declaration.
Meanwhile, ruling party MP Cho Kyung-tae became the first ruling party MP to publicly voice support for Yoon’s impeachment.
“The choice between standing on the side of the people by suspending the president’s duties or becoming an ally of the forces that imposed martial law is a matter for politicians to judge,” Cho said on Friday.
“I hope that all the politicians of the People’s Power will stand on the side of the people,” he added.
The capital, Seoul, has seen more than two days of street protests demanding Yoon’s resignation, while police said he is being investigated for “insurrection”.
People have also been flooding PPP lawmakers with text messages, urging them to vote for Yoon’s impeachment, according to South Korean media reports.
One MP, Shin Sung-bum, received more than 4,000 such messages on Facebook, The Chosun Daily reported.
More than seven out of 10 South Koreans were in favour of the impeachment, a survey by local pollster Realmeter showed on Thursday.
The impeachment motion needs 200 votes to pass. The opposition have 192 seats and would need at least eight of the 108 ruling party MPs to back their motion for it to pass.
Before his attempt to place the country under military rule, Yoon had been beset by low popularity ratings, corruption allegations and an opposition-led legislature that reduced him to a lame-duck leader.
By BBC News
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