Han Dong Hun, head of South Korea's ruling People's Power Party, announced his resignation on Monday. He apologized to everyone who “suffered as a result of martial law.” Two days earlier, parliament passed a motion to impeach President Jun Suk Jeol.
“I am stepping down as leader of the People's Power Party,” Han Dong Un said, adding that he offered “sincere apologies to all those who suffered under martial law.”
On December 14, 208 deputies of the National Assembly voted on the opposition's motion voted in favor of Jun's impeachment. This means, as emphasized by the Yonhap agency, that 12 deputies of the People's Power Party, from which the president comes, supported this initiative.
Han Dong HunJEON HEON-KYUN/PAP/EPA
In the first vote, on December 7, in accordance with party discipline, MPs from the People's Power Party left the meeting hall. Chairman Han then suggested that the ruling party favored Jun's “orderly” resignation. Last Thursday, however, he called on MPs to vote “according to their conscience.” Despite this, there were calls in the ruling camp for his resignation.
A date has been set for the first impeachment hearing
South Korean Constitutional Tribunal announced on Monday that the first impeachment trial of President Jun Suk Jeol will be held on December 27.
The Constitutional Tribunal has up to 180 days to investigate whether there were sufficient grounds to initiate impeachment proceedings. If six of the court's nine judges uphold the parliament's decision, the head of state will ultimately leave office. There are currently six judges on the tribunal following the departure of three judges retirement in October and the political impasse that prevented the appointment of their successors.
As part of the ongoing investigations, a joint team of investigators from the police, the Ministry of Defense and the anti-corruption agency announced on Monday plans to summon Jun for questioning on Wednesday.
Protests in front of the parliament in South Korea. They want Jun to be removed from the presidencyReuters
The president did not respond to the summons
On Sunday, Jun did not appear in response to a summons issued by the prosecutor's office, which is conducting separate proceedings. The reason, according to the Yonhap agency, was that Jun was still forming a legal team to defend himself.
Foreign Minister Cho Te Yul told parliament on Monday that he would soon hold a telephone conversation with the secretary of state USA Antony Blinken as part of efforts to revitalize diplomacy that has collapsed following Jun's decision.
President Jun declared martial law on the evening of December 3accusing the opposition of sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government's work. After six hours, Jun abolished the decree under pressure from the National Assembly. The opposition accuses Jun of an attempted coup and abuse of power.
Main photo source: JEON HEON-KYUN/PAP/EPA