Impeachment looms for S. Korea president

SEOUL — South Korea's ruling party leader said on Friday that President Yoon Suk-yeol needs to be removed from power for trying to impose martial law, as the opposition arranged a vote on Yoon's impeachment for Saturday.

Yoon shocked the nation and his own ruling People Power Party, or PPP, on Tuesday when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called "antistate forces" and overcome obstructionist political opponents.

He rescinded the declaration about six hours later after parliament, including some members of his party, voted to oppose the decree.

Speaking after a PPP meeting at the parliament on Friday, party leader Han Dong-hoon said Yoon had ordered the arrest of prominent politicians on the grounds that they were among those "anti-state forces".

The presidential office later denied that any such order had been given, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Han said earlier there was "a high risk of extreme actions, such as this emergency martial law being repeated" while Yoon remained in power, putting the country in "great danger".

"I believe that President Yoon Suk-yeol's immediate suspension from office is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people in light of the newly revealed facts," Han said.

He did not explicitly call for impeachment or respond to reporters when asked for clarification.

On Friday, Han said he held talks with Yoon but heard nothing that could change his stance, according to Yonhap. The meeting at the presidential residence was requested by Yoon, the report said.

The main opposition Democratic Party has submitted a motion in parliament to impeach Yoon and has scheduled a vote for Saturday.

Lingering worry

The defense ministry said on Friday that it suspended the duties of three military commanders involved in the martial law declaration on Tuesday.

Chiefs of the Capital Defense Command, the Army Special Warfare Command and the Defense Counterintelligence Command were suspended and transferred to other units.

This came amid the lingering worry about another martial law declaration in the opposition bloc. Acting Defense Minister Kim Seonho said on Friday that reports about another attempt to impose martial law were not true.

Some PPP members urged Yoon to resign before the vote, saying they did not want a repeat of the 2016 impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye, which triggered the implosion of the conservative party and a victory for liberals in presidential and general elections.

"We cannot impeach the president tomorrow and hand over the regime to Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party," PPP lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun told reporters.

To succeed, an impeachment bill would need support from two-thirds of the 300-member assembly. Yoon's party has 108 legislators, so eight would have to side with the opposition for the bill to pass.

If parliament votes to impeach, the president is suspended from exercising his powers until an impeachment trial is held by the Constitutional Court. The prime minister serves as leader in an acting capacity.

Tens of thousands of people in the country are expected at rallies on Saturday against President Yoon, Seoul Metropolitan Police said.

Agencies - Xinhua