President Yoon Suk Yeol said Saturday that he would never succumb to the threat of impeachment, after the National Assembly voted 204-85 in favor of a motion that could eventually dethrone the incumbent president.
"I will never surrender," he said in his fifth address to the nation in the past two weeks since his imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.
"I will cherish any reprimand, encouragement and support you show to me, and I will do my best for the country until the end," he added, in a speech delivered in his official residence in Hannam-dong of Yongsan-gu, central Seoul.
Recounting past achievements such as the handling of economic problems he said stemmed from misdeeds of his liberal predecessors, a U-turn from the nuclear phaseout that led to the Czech Republic's selection of a South Korean consortium as a preferred bidder in a nuclear power plant project and a revival of trilateral ties between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, Yoon said, "I pause my journey here for a while, but our journey with the people over the past 2 1/2 years toward the future must not stop.
Yoon also asked public officials to gather strength in difficult times and show support for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who serves as acting president for the time being.
Yoon's duty as the president was suspended at 7:24 p.m. under the National Assembly Act, hours after the parliament voted in favor of the impeachment motion. This came as a secretary in the presidential office received an original copy of the impeachment resolution delivered by representatives of the legislative body led by former three-term lawmaker and the National Assembly secretary-general Kim Min-ki.
As Yoon faces an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, Yoon's legal representatives will begin working to defend the 63-year-old conservative president from accusations of insurrection through his martial law imposition on Dec. 3. Presidential security will remain in place at his official residence during his trial, which is to not last for more than six months.
Yoon's spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Saturday's speech follows a prior one on Thursday, in which he sought to justify his attempt to wield military power to take control of the opposition-controlled National Assembly and election authorities. Yoon then claimed his martial law declaration was a high-caliber political decision by the president and it had been made within the constitutional framework.
Hundreds of wreaths with plastic flowers, presumably from Yoon's avid supporters, lined the wall outside the presidential office in Yongsan on Saturday. Ribbons on the wreaths read, "You are the patriot who saved the country," "We must protect President Yoon Suk Yeol," "Cheer up President Yoon Suk Yeol," "Justice will prevail" and "Death sentence to election fraudsters," among others.
Source: Korea Herald
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