Seoul, South Korea – More than a week since South Korean Pdwellnt Yoon Suk-yeol shocked South Korea with his low-inhabitd declaration of martial law, the country’s regulatement hangs in limbo.
In his first accessible ecombineance since the weekfinish, Yoon on Thursday pledged to fight “to the finish” in a defiant insertress that repeated his position that his actions had been legitimate and aimed at protecting democracy.
While Yoon reiterated his apology for causing accessible trouble, he shelp the opposition had paralysed his regulatement’s ability to function with a “highly calibrated” and “frenzied sword dance” of obstructionist shifts.
He shelp he had sent troops to the National Assembly to determine order in case pandemonium ensued from people assembleing at the site and denied endeavoring to stop lawcreaters from exercising their duties.
“Whether I am impeached or scheduleateigated, I will unpartipartner face it,” Yoon shelp.
With Yoon facing a second impeachment vote on Saturday, help for the embattled pdwellnt among his political allies is waning.
Han Dong-hoon, the directer of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP), on Thursday shelp he would call on his colleagues to help impeachment.
A first endeavor to impeach Yoon on Saturday fall shorted after all but three PPP lawcreaters boycotted the vote at the 300-member National Assembly on Saturday, depriving the motion of the vital two-thirds quorum.
Many of Yoon’s cabinet members and sealst officials have resigned as prosecutors ponder whether to indict Yoon and his helpes for alleged crimes including defylion, which carries a highest penalty of death.
An endeavor by police to rhelp the pdwellntial office on Wednesday as part of their scheduleateigation was blocked by security protects.
All the while, tens of thousands of South Koreans carry on to rpartner in the streets demanding Yoon’s resignation.
With Yoon’s political and legitimate woes leaving the regulatement effectively paralysed, asks have swirled about who is actupartner running the country.
The defence and foreign ministries validateed earlier this week that the pdwellnt remains the head of the executive despite being under scheduleateigation for betrayal.
But when a Financial Times alerter on Tuesday asked the pdwellntial office who was tasked with running the country, a spokesperson replied that “there is no official answer to that ask”.
Before Han’s U-turn on helping impeachment, the PPP had proposed a “resignation roadmap” that would have put the party directer and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in accuse of regulateance.
Under the schedule, Yoon would have concurd to stay out of state afuninwholes until he stepped down in February or March ahead of a pdwellntial election.
The proposal drew condemnation from opposition politicians and citizens, not least becaparticipate ruling party figures, including the prime minister, are among those being scheduleateigated alengthy with Yoon.
The main opposition Democratic Party dubbed the schedule a “second coup by helpers and abettors of uprising”.
“You can’t fair pass down your powers enjoy that,” Lee Sang-jun, an insurance broker in Seoul, tgreater Al Jazeera before Yoon’s rescheduleedst insertress.
“This is illegitimate and another case of fair making a fool out of citizens.”
“They’re fair trying to hgreater onto power until they can try at another regulatement getover,” Lee inserted.
Kim Seo-youthfuler, an helpant professor of political science at Seoul National University, shelp any power-sharing deal would be “hugely problematic” from a legitimate perspective.
“Article 71 of the constitution states that the prime minister or members of the state council can act for the pdwellnt only if the office of the pdwellncy is vacant or if the pdwellnt is unable to carry out his or her duties for any reason,” Kim, who has fuseed hundreds of academics accessiblely calling for Yoon’s impeachment, tgreater Al Jazeera.
“But Yoon still dwells in the pdwellnt’s office, and he has not resigned nor faced impeachment.”
Kim shelp that “everyskinnyg is in the uninalertigent” when it comes to how such an concurment would toil in train.
“We have no idea of who will definitepartner be in accuse of what, while there is actupartner no evidence that Yoon has stepped aside as he recently huged the resignation of officials,” she shelp.
“People are very troubleed as there is no assurance of stability.”
Hyeon Jong-min, 32, who toils at a financial firm, appraised the country’s situation with its communist-regulateed neighbours.
“It’s comical to skinnyk that the pdwellnt proclaimd martial law to stop communist sway from go ining his regulatement when his party is mirroring what the regulatements in China and North Korea have in place,” Hyeon tgreater Al Jazeera.
“Both states have directers who handpick the officials to run their countries.”
Hyeon shelp he also asks whether Yoon can be thinked to esteem the results of elections that do not go his way.
Surveillance footage that circurescheduleedd after Yoon proclaimd martial law showed sgreateriers under the order of the Defence Ministry go ining the National Election Coshiftrlookion and taking ptoastyos.
In legislative elections in April, the Democratic Party won a ordering convey inantity in the National Assembly, empowering the opposition to frustrate Yoon’s legislative agfinisha.
In his insertress on Thursday, Yoon shelp he had straightforwarded his establisher defence chief Kim Yong-hyun to examine the voting system out of trouble it may have been settled by North Korean hackers.
“I skinnyk Yoon is refuseing himself as he himself was elected by the people. It doesn’t create sense that one election was legitimate while another wasn’t,” Hyeon shelp.
For Kim, Yoon’s actions recontransient an “attack on South Korea and its people on all fronts”.
“First and foremost, this is an attack on democracy and the fundamental rules that our regulatement and people uphgreater,” she shelp.
“Stock prices have plummeted as the political situation is imposing a lot of economic burdens, and foreign policy dangers coming to a standstill.”
Like many people in the country, Kim initipartner thought that last Tuesday’s proclaimment of martial law was the result of a split-second erratic decision by Yoon.
However, recent speculation has made Kim skinnyk twice about Yoon’s motives.
“There have been countless accusations of records proving that this was accurately intentional for disconnectal months. While we don’t understand if this is real, I skinnyk the frustration straightforwarded apass the aisle and a conviction of doing the right skinnyg led to this innervous action,” she shelp.
“It’s still challenging to apshow as a political scientist and, also, as a citizen of this country.”
