South Korea's Yoon apologizes hours before impeachment vote

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized on Saturday for plunging the country into political crisis with a martial law decree, saying he would leave it up to the ruling party to decide his fate.

“I sincerely apologize to the public,” Yoon said in a televised address, as opposition parties prepare to vote on an impeachment motion later in the day. Yoon declared martial law late on Tuesday but the order was retracted hours after the National Assembly voted unanimously to nullify it.

“I will not avoid legal and political responsibility for declaring martial law. I am leaving it to the ruling party to decide ways to stabilize the state affair going forward, including my term,” he added in a speech that lasted just two minutes.

After the speech, Han Dong-hoon, head of the ruling People Power Party, said it was now inevitable that Yoon would step down early. Han then held talks with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo that may have sketched out how the government would operate following the vote.

“I told the prime minister that I hope he will take care of the livelihood, economy and the state affairs more thoroughly and stably so that people will not be anxious,’ the PPP’s Han said after the meeting.

Eom Kyeong-young, a political commentator, said ruling party lawmakers will likely focus on what alternative the party leader would come up with during the meeting with the prime minister.

“If their proposal is persuasive enough, that would raise the chance of the motion failing,” Eom said. “The public, though, they won’t accept anything but impeachment.”

The vote on the impeachment motion is set to take place at 5 p.m. local time at the National Assembly. The outcome hinges on whether the opposition can muster at least eight votes from members of Yoon’s party to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to carry the motion.

If the vote passes, Prime Minister Han will take the helm of the nation as Yoon becomes the third South Korean president subject to impeachment proceedings likely to last months.

Should the motion fail, then Yoon will continue for now as president but with a large question mark hanging over the prospects of finishing his term and a potential wave of public demonstrations against him.

Either result in the vote is likely leave one of the world’s key suppliers of semiconductors and tech equipment in a chaotic inward-looking political limbo. That weakened position could put Seoul on the back foot in responding to the protectionist trade policies of Donald Trump’s incoming U.S. administration and the security challenges presented by North Korea and its deepening alliance with Russia.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung has already vowed to continue pushing for impeachment of the president if the motion fails to pass on Saturday.

“The biggest risk to South Korea right now is the very existence of the president,” Lee said. “The only way to solve this is for the president to step down immediately or be removed from office early through impeachment.”

For now it appears that Yoon is trying to hold on to his position.

“Yoon is basically saying that he has no intent to step down,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Seoul’s Myongji University. “He is trying to buy time through suggesting means such as the constitution revision to shorten his term.”

The outcome of the vote remains unclear after hours of talks late into Friday night appeared to show there was still no party-wide agreement on what action to take on Saturday. Many senior members oppose an impeachment that would likely trigger an election they may fare badly in.

PPP leader Han’s faction has about 20 lawmakers, some of whom joined with the opposition in the early-morning hours of Wednesday to vote down the martial law order. But it’s less clear if they are united enough to swing the vote against Yoon after the president’s address ignited a fresh debate within the party over their next steps.

Han himself doesn’t have a vote as he isn’t a lawmaker and his relatively limited experience in politics raises doubts about his ability to sway the wider party beyond his faction.

The voting will also include a motion against Yoon’s wife, an additional element that will lengthen proceedings. First lady Kim Keon Hee has been criticized by the opposition for allegedly accepting bribes and wielding too much influence. While prosecutors cleared her of any criminal charge, the opposition has repeatedly called for an independent probe.

If the motion against the president is passed, Prime Minister Han will lead the nation until the constitutional court rules on the impeachment. In normal times, prime ministers in South Korea largely serve nominal roles and have often stepped down to take responsibility for bungled policies, earning them the nickname of being a “shield” for the president in local media.

Failure to pass the motion could lead to months of protests and political chaos. A gathering of hundreds of people outside the National Assembly on Friday night echoed the start of candlelight vigils in 2016 that eventually culminated in the ousting of former President Park Geun-hye. Park was removed from office over an influence-peddling scandal and Yoon was one of the prosecutors who investigated her for corruption that ultimately put her behind bars.

Yoon’s relatively late switch from prosecutor to politician has kept him as an outsider in the political realm from the start. He has remained isolated after only squeaking to victory in the March 2022 election, the closest race in South Korea’s history. He still has two and a half years to go for his single, five-year term.

The president’s popularity has steadily declined, falling to a record low of 16% this week. Since then, the Democratic Party has sought to thwart his agenda, filing impeachment motions against government officials and negotiating hard on next year’s budget.

Yoon’s high-risk political gamble came at a time of high uncertainty for the nation as its trade-dependent economy faces potential tariffs from Trump. Bloomberg Economics estimates that full imposition of tariffs on China, South Korea and other U.S. trading partners could reduce Seoul’s exports to the U.S. by as much as 55%.

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(With assistance from Shinhye Kang.)

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