South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol's switch from contrition to defiance on Thursday over his martial law order rallied some supporters but other members of his party said it did nothing to sway their view that he must be removed from office.

In a speech before a second impeachment vote scheduled for Saturday, Yoon condemned his political opponents as "anti-state forces" that side with enemies in North Korea, said Pyongyang may have hacked the South's elections and defended last week's short-lived martial law order as a legal move to protect democracy.

The remarks hit many of the talking points featuring on conservative YouTube channels and marked a sharp change of tone from a speech before the first impeachment vote last week in which he apologised and said he would place his political future in the hands of his People Power Party.

It was unclear what caused the change but Yoon gave no sign of supporting a proposal by PPP leader Han Dong-hoon for him to resign in coming months and to hand authority to the prime minister and ruling party until then.

The speech brought to the fore divisions in the PPP. Changing tack, Han urged party members to vote for impeachment on Saturday, a move greeted by shouting from pro-Yoon lawmakers, who voted in Kweon Seong-dong as their new party floor leader shortly after Yoon's speech.

Kweon, a Yoon supporter, said the party's position was still to oppose the president's impeachment but that a meeting would be held before Saturday's vote to finalise plans.

The party boycotted the last vote, preventing a quorum. At least 200 votes are needed to impeach Yoon. Opposition parties have 192 seats, so they need at least eight PPP members to join.

As of Thursday, at least seven members of the party were expected to support a new impeachment motion.

One PPP lawmaker who said he would now vote to impeach Yoon said the president's new remarks may have rallied some loyalists but sowed more confusion and division among conservatives.

"His speech had an impact on the election of the floor leader. Also, it sounds like he urged those who blindly follow the president among conservatives to take action," PPP lawmaker Kim Sang-wook told reporters.

Kim said he felt frustrated and betrayed because the speech dashed his last hopes that Yoon would leave office in a "decent" way.

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR IMPEACHMENT

Opinion polls show a majority of South Koreans support impeaching Yoon. A survey released by pollster Realmeter on Dec. 5 found 73.6% of respondents supported impeachment, including 50.4% of those who identified themselves as conservatives.

Yoon's speech lit up conservative political forums online, with the top-ranked posts titled "Martial law was the most reasonable decision", and "Han made a wrong decision".

After Yoon's speech, scuffles could be seen breaking out between attendees of a pro-conservative rally in central Seoul and an opposition supporter who removed a banner of support for Yoon’s martial law declaration.

Kim Tae-hyun, who attended the rally, said he thought Yoon did a "good job" with his speech and had the right to declare martial law.

"And the impeachment just shouldn't happen... So (the martial law declaration) was merely an expression of the authority of the president," said Kim. "The Democratic Party, which is currently holding the country back, is the real issue."

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