South Korea's Yoon defends martial law decision, vows to 'fight to the end'

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday (Dec 12) lashed out at his political opponents as "anti-state forces", said North Korea has hacked the country's elections, and defended last week's short-lived martial law order as a legal move to protect democracy.

His comments came as the leader of Yoon's own party said the president had shown no signs of resigning and must be impeached.

He faces a second impeachment vote in parliament expected on Saturday, a week after the first one failed because most of the ruling party boycotted the vote.

"I will fight to the end," he said near the end of a lengthy address broadcast on television.

Yoon said the opposition had pushed the country into a "national crisis".

"The National Assembly, dominated by the large opposition party, has become a monster that destroys the constitutional order of liberal democracy," he said.

In comments that echoed his justification for declaring emergency rule in the first place, he said "criminal groups" that have paralysed state affairs and disrupted the rule of law must be stopped at all cost from taking over government.

Yoon said the country's National Election Commission was hacked by North Korea last year but the independent agency refused to cooperate in an investigation and inspection of its system to safeguard integrity.

He said the refusal was enough to raise questions about the integrity of the April 2024 election and led him to declare martial law.

Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) suffered a crushing defeat in the April election, allowing the Democratic Party overwhelming control of the single-chamber assembly. Even so, the opposition needs eight members of the PPP to vote with them for the president to be impeached.

"I apologise again to the people who must have been surprised and anxious due to the martial law," said Yoon.

"Please trust me in my warm loyalty to the people."

He added that he would "not avoid legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law".

Just before Yoon's televised address, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Yoon had to be stripped of power and the only way to accomplish that is for the party to back the impeachment bill.

Han urged party members to attend the meeting and vote "according to their conviction and conscience".

The main opposition Democratic Party's lawmaker Jo Seung-lae told AFP Saturday's impeachment vote would take place around 5pm local time (4pm Singapore time).

Yoon is banned from foreign travel as part of an "insurrection" probe into his inner circle over the dramatic events of Dec 3-4 that stunned South Korea's allies.

Lawmakers broke through a police cordon, some by scaling the fence, to enter parliament and demand Yoon to rescind martial law within hours of the declaration.

A probe into last week's events has swiftly gathered pace, with police on Wednesday attempting to raid Yoon's office to investigate his brief imposition of martial law.

The police were blocked from entering the Presidential office by security guards, later saying they had been given "very limited" documents by Yoon's staff.

The Democratic Party warned it would file legal complaints for insurrection against the presidential staff and security if they continued to obstruct law enforcement.

Yoon's inner circle has come under intense scrutiny for their role in last week's martial law declaration.

Prison authorities on Wednesday said former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun tried to kill himself shortly before his formal arrest the previous day.

Kim, who is accused of suggesting to Yoon that he impose martial law, was first detained on Sunday, and later formally arrested on charges of "engaging in critical duties during an insurrection" and "abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights".

The justice ministry and a prison official said he was in good health on Wednesday.

The former interior minister and the general in charge of the martial law operation are also barred from foreign travel.

Two senior police officials were also arrested early on Wednesday.