ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - President Yoon expelled "de facto" from his party

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - The People Power Party (PPP), the ruling party of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, is discussing internally the possibility of Yoon's resignation next February, in the face of popular reactions and the efforts of Parliament, which is trying to organize an impeachment process against the President. The PPP is talking about possible early elections in April or May 2025 and, in order to allow a "smooth" transition, has placed the President "under guardianship", meaning that he will no longer participate in state affairs.
The opposition parties, on the other hand, are submitting motions to impeach the President in Parliament, and a new vote of no confidence in Parliament is scheduled for December 14. Meanwhile, on December 3, the Korean Public Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, accused of having conspired with President Yoon Suk Yeol to impose martial law on December 3. The minister is accused of having ordered the army to block parliament militarily, which, according to the constitution, should have been informed of the imposition of martial law: Parliament could then have demanded the end of martial law by majority decision.
Meanwhile, Catholic community, groups, associations and parishes are also publicly supporting the impeachment process: the "Catholic Climate Action" movement invited people to a prayer and information campaign in front of the National Assembly building, in which around 200 believers took part, and called for the impeachment process and the comprehensive commitment of Christians "to the common good". Father Lim Hyeon-ho, deputy chairman of the Department of Environmental Pastoral Care of the Archdiocese of Seoul, explained: "Politics is about love and service to the common good, but current politics actually causes pain and suffering." Father Park Joo-ryung, another priest present, stressed: "The current situation may also be the result of our negligence, indifference and irresponsibility: we are now called upon to reflect on this and act together." Citizens present called on the MPs, especially members of the People Power Party, Yoon's own party, to vote for impeachment.
Fr. Cho Seung-hyeon, priest and journalist in the media service of the Korean Bishops' Conference, explains: "This illegal martial law has shaken the people's trust in President Yoon in our democratic republic. Who would follow a president who sends soldiers to the National Assembly just because he does not get what he wants?" He continued: "Calls for the president's resignation are coming from all walks of life and from the political world. The six opposition parties accuse him of treason. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has started an indefinite general strike and is demanding his resignation."
The National Commission for Justice and Peace and the Association of Superiors of Male and Female Religious Congregations have also spoken out in this sense. In a joint statement, signed also by other bodies such as all the “Justice and Peace” Commissions of the Korean dioceses, it is stated: “We call on the National Assembly, the representatives of the people, to impeach the president as soon as possible.” “What the president must do is resign, and if not, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court must appeal and approve the impeachment measure as soon as possible.” This step, it is stated, is necessary “to avoid national chaos.” “Now is the time to show that the people rule, and that the president is not the master of the country,” it concludes.
Meanwhile, speculation is growing among analysts about the motives that led the president to act as he did. The president was under intense pressure from the Democratic Party and the other oppositions that control the majority in the National Assembly, obtained in the parliamentary elections of April 2024: the political scenario was therefore a legislative majority against the administration of the president in power in the Blue House (the presidential palace in Seoul). Opposition members questioned many of the president's decisions, and Yoon himself was quite unpopular: according to some polls, only 20% of South Korean citizens appreciated his policies. But can a political stalemate, a standoff over the budget law or other social issues justify such an act?
South Korea has a long history of authoritarian military governments and dictatorships, and the political consciousness of South Koreans is shaped by this historical memory. What happened on December 3 with martial law and the intervention of the army brought this memory back into the consciousness of citizens.
At the level of international balances, one also wonders: what did the United States know about the president's intentions? An American spokesman has denied that Washington knew of these intentions. South Korea is a country formally still at war with the North, interrupted by an armistice agreement. And there are dozens of American bases and more than 28,000 American soldiers in South Korea. All previous military coups - recalls the American magazine "National Review", from the "conservative" area - have received the "green light" from the United States, and this because the United States has control of all the troops in South Korea. It therefore seems unlikely, if not impossible, that Washington was unaware of the Korean president's act. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 10/12/2024)

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