South Korea's Yoon defends his martial law decree as impeachment ruling
nears
 [February 26, 2025]
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a final statement at his impeachment trial,
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree
that plunged the country into chaos as a bid to inform the public of the
danger of the opposition-controlled parliament as he vowed Tuesday to
push for political reform if reinstated.
Yoon spoke at the Constitutional Court as it wrapped up arguments in his
impeachment trial. The court is expected to rule by mid-March on whether
to remove Yoon from office or reinstate his presidential powers.
The liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached Yoon, a
conservative, after his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law decree caused
political turmoil, rattled its financial markets and hurt its
international image. He has been separately arrested and indicted on
rebellion charges in connection with his decree. If convicted, he would
face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Yoon has denied any wrongdoing and blamed the main liberal opposition
Democratic Party, which obstructed his agenda, impeached many senior
officials and slashed key parts of the government's budget bill, for the
political crisis. During his marital law announcement, Yoon called the
assembly “a den of criminals” and “anti-state forces.”
“The reason why I declared martial law was because of desperation as I
could no longer neglect a do-or-die crisis facing this country,” Yoon
said. “I tried to inform the people of these anti-state acts of
wickedness by the mammoth opposition party and appealed to the people to
stop it with intense surveillance and criticism.”
After declaring martial law, Yoon sent troops and police officers to the
assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter an assembly
chamber to vote down Yoon’s decree unanimously, forcing his Cabinet to
lift it.
Yoon reiterated Tuesday that he had no intentions of disrupting assembly
work and that deploying troops and police was meant to maintain order.
But some commanders of military units sent to the assembly have
testified that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to prevent them
from overturning his decree.
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A TV screen shows footage of impeached South Korean President Yoon
Suk Yeol's address at the final hearing of his trial during a news
program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 25,
2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joo)
During the hearing, Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Chung-rai said
that Yoon must be dismissed as he undermined the constitution by
trying to seal the assembly and suppress its authority with armed
troops. Jung also said Yoon's imposition of martial law disturbed
public order because South Korea wasn't in an emergency that
required such a drastic step.
“Yoon Suk Yeol is still refusing to have self-reflection and
soul-searching and repeating sophistry and crafty remarks that say
his emergency martial law was a high-level act of governance,” Jung
said. “We should dismiss him as soon as possible to get the Republic
of Korea back on track.”
Massive rallies by opponents and supporters of Yoon have divided the
streets of Seoul and other major South Korean cities. Whatever the
Constitutional Court decides, experts say it will likely further
polarize the country and intensify its conservative-liberal divide.
If Yoon is formally thrown out of office, a national election must
take place within two months to find his successor.
During more than an hour of testimony Tuesday, Yoon said that he
would push for political reforms and a constitutional revision to
change the current presidential system if he regains his
presidential powers. He also suggested stepping down before his
single five-year term ends in 2027 to promote “political reform.”
It’s unclear whether and how Yoon’s statement could affect the
court's ruling.
South Korea adopted the current system that limits a president to a
single five-year term in 1987, following decades of military-backed
dictatorships. After Yoon’s martial law stunt, there have been calls
to change it. Some favor a parliamentary Cabinet system, others want
a U.S.-style setup in which a president can run for a second
four-year term or a system in which a president and prime minister
split key responsibilities.
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