On December 12, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol addressed the South Korean public – the second such address since he lifted martial law on December 4. During his speech, which lasted nearly 30 minutes, he clearly laid the blame on the main opposition Democratic Party, which he said had given him no choice but to declare martial law on December 3.
“The opposition party is doing a madness sword dance, calling the emergency declaration of martial law treason,” Yoon said. “Which force is paralyzing the state affairs and committing the subversion of national constitution in South Korea?”
Thursday’s speech came five days after Yoon’s brief address to the public on December 7 – his first appearance since he lifted martial law in a televised announcement. The December 7 address was made only hours before the National Assembly tabled a bill calling for impeaching Yoon. That address, which lasted less than 2 minutes, saw Yoon apologizing to the public over the anxiety and confusion they experienced due to his declaration of martial law. During the address, he implied his intention to let the ruling People Power Party (PPP) make important decisions on ways to stabilize the country, including the shortening of his term.
Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the PPP, introduced the party’s blueprint on December 8, the day after his party neutralized the DP and other five opposition parties’ initiative to impeach Yoon at the National Assembly. Han vowed to make an “ordered early departure” of Yoon in the coming months, while having the PPP and prime minister exercise all presidential powers and authorities in the interim.
But in his speech on December 12, Yoon openly refused to step down, saying his declaration of martial law is not treason but an “act of governance.”
“The president’s exercise of the power to declare martial law is an act of governance that is not subject to judicial review,” Yoon said, counterarguing against the opposition’s claim that he is a “ringleader” of treason.
Yoon Sang-hyun, a senior PPP lawmaker, also claimed that Yoon’s declaration of martial law is a political act – which cannot be subject to a criminal punishment – on December 11.
However, there is precedent for convicting a South Korean president on similar charges.
Chun Doo-hwan, one of the most brutal South Korean dictators who ruled the country from 1980 to 1988 after his military coup on December 12, 1979, was sentenced to life in prison on charges of insurrection and treason. Chun’s declaration of martial law in May 1980 was the focal point for the charges. In 1997, South Korea’s Supreme Court confirmed the lower court’s ruling sentencing Chun to life imprisonment, confirming its right to punish those who take power by using force or block the constitutional institution’s right of exercising its power through an undemocratic process.
Notably, Chun was collared as the “ringleader” of the insurrection plot, the same charge prosecutors are investigating Yoon under.
Under the precedent of the Supreme Court, Yoon will likely be punished for treason. To defend himself, in his latest address he accused the DP of trying to subvert the constitution, and warned that South Korea will collapse after the DP usurps his presidential power.
“The South Korea-U.S. alliance and the South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, which are the foundations of our security and economy, will collapse again. North Korea will advance its nuclear and missile capabilities further and will threaten our lives. Then, what does the future hold for this country, South Korea?” Yoon said. He claimed that the DP will pass unconstitutional laws that hurt the economy and destroy the semiconductor and nuclear power industries. He also said the Chinese solar installations will destroy forests across the country while adding that South Korea will be dominated by gangsters and drugs will ruin the future generations.
Yoon accused the DP of trying to drag him down from the presidency for the past two years and a half, saying the party has never accepted the results of the 2022 presidential election in which he defeated Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the DP, by 0.7 percentage points, the narrowest margin of victory in South Korea’s history.
While Yoon lambasted the DP over its governing style, he didn’t acknowledge that the South Korean people overwhelmingly voted for the opposition party during the April 2024 National Assembly election. The strong public support for the DP was driven largely by disapproval of Yoon himself.
Instead, Yoon echoed baseless claims from far-right extremists in South Korea that supposed anti-state and pro-North Korea forces have manipulated the results of elections. While Yoon didn’t explicitly accuse the DP of stealing the general election, he cast doubt on the results by saying that the computer system of the National Election Commission (NEC) is so vulnerable that a National Intelligence Service (NIS) employee could hack it easily.
According to Yoon, North Korea hacked some government agencies and institutions in the second half of last year. Most of them agreed to undergo an inspection by the NIS; only the NEC refused it, although it later agreed to get the inspection.
The NEC said on Thursday that Yoon misled the facts, questioning his claim as, under the same election system, he and his party won the presidential and local elections, respectively, in 2022. Also, the NEC condemned the martial law troops’ trespass into its building on the night of December 3-4. According to local media, some of the martial law troops entered the computer center of the NEC and took a picture of the server with their cellphones.
In light of what Yoon said, he raised the possibility that the results of the general elections in 2024 could have been manipulated as, in Yoon’s mind, it is impossible for the DP to win a landslide victory against his party. Far-right extremists have questioned the country’s early voting system for years. However, it has remained a fringe conspiracy theory, as there has not been evidence supporting their allegations against the NEC and the early voting system.
When it comes to deciding whether Yoon can be punished for treason, a key question is to whether Yoon ordered commanders to block lawmakers from entering the National Assembly or to try to pull them out of the plenary chamber.
Yoon said the National Assembly was able to pass a resolution to lift martial law as he did not prevent lawmakers and legislative officials from entering the National Assembly. Also, if he were serious about seizing power through a self-coup, Yoon said he would have declared martial law over the weekend, not late at night on Tuesday.
However, the police clearly blocked some lawmakers from entering the National Assembly and the deployed martial law troops entered the National Assembly in an attempt to pull out the lawmakers in the plenary chamber who had gathered to lift martial law.
According to Kwak Jong-geun, former commander of the Army’s Special Warfare Command, Yoon called him over phone twice and ordered him to break the door and pull the lawmakers who were in the plenary chamber out. At the time, the lawmakers were not ready to vote for lifting martial law due to the lack of a quorum. Hong Jang-won, the former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, said Yoon told him to “take this opportunity to take them [DP lawmakers] all in.”
Yoon claims he had no intention to forcibly disband the National Assembly, saying that he declared martial law just as a means to let South Koreans know how seriously the DP-controlled National Assembly was impeding his statesmanship. As evidence of his intent, Yoon pointed to his order to deploy less than 300 troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, the delayed timing of the troops’ deployment to the National Assembly, and his immediate order to pull off the troops after the National Assembly passed a resolution to lift martial law. However, it took three hours for Yoon to officially lift martial law after the National Assembly passed the resolution, although he should have done so immediately.
To initiate martial law in the form seen in South Korea in the past, it would take tens of thousands of troops as well as extensive discussion and preparation, according to Yoon. However, as he never intended to implement full martial law, Yoon said, he only discussed it with Kim Yong-hyun, the defense minister who was known to command Yoon’s martial law.
Kim, who resigned after martial law was lifted, has been arrested on charges of abuse of power and playing a key role in insurrection. He attempted to kill himself on the night of December 10, but officials at the detention center intervened.
Yoon tried to insist that he did not intend to arrest lawmakers and prevent the National Assembly from passing a resolution to lift martial law. However, his address on December 12 directly countered testimony from other key figures. With the investigation ongoing, we should view this less as a presidential address and more as a serious crime suspect vehemently denying the allegations against him.
The National Investigation Office of the National Police Agency has kicked off investigations into the allegations of treason against Yoon. On December 11, the Presidential Office refused a search and seizure request, which is within the president’s authority. Yoon clearly intends to fight the investigation agency’s investigations into his conduct – as well as the National Assembly’s attempts to suspend his presidential power. If Yoon loses the presidency, he would also lose the president’s widespread abilities to block criminal investigations into himself and his associates.
In a press briefing after Yoon’s speech, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon expressed his regret that Yoon has not kept the promises made on December 7. Han said that he has tried to find other ways to manage the situation, but now agrees that the impeachment is the only way to suspend Yoon from exercising his presidential authority.
Given Han’s public support for impeaching Yoon, more of the PPP lawmakers who are close to him may decide to vote in favor of the effort on December 14. Even before Yoon’s speech, five PPP legislators had indicated they would support impeachment. The opposition only needs eight votes from Yoon’s party to secure his impeachment.
However, the party is still far from unified on the question. Kweon Seong-dong, one of the key pro-Yoon PPP lawmakers, was elected as a floor leader on December 12. He may neutralize the vote to impeach Yoon just like his predecessor, Choo Kyeong-ho, did on December 7.
The DP called Yoon’s speech “a manifestation of extreme delusion and a declaration of war against the people.” A DP spokesperson urged the police to arrest Yoon as soon as possible.
The second vote calling for the impeachment of Yoon will be held on December 14 at the National Assembly. Given the growing number of the PPP lawmakers who expressed their intention to support the measure, the DP and the opposition are expecting to suspend his presidential power and authority immediately on Saturday. Then the Constitutional Court will have to review the impeachment and either uphold or reverse the decision.
Yoon said he would fight alongside the South Korean people until the end. Ironically, nearly 75 percent of South Koreans support impeaching Yoon immediately.