South Korea’s Yoon vows to fight ‘until the very last minute’

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to fight “until the very last minute” in a defiant address

A defiant South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to fight “until the very last minute” during an address at the Presidential Office in Seoul on December 12. Picture courtesy of the South Korean Presidential Office via Yonhap / AFP

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday vowed to fight “until the very last minute” in a defiant address defending his shock decision last week to declare martial law and deploy troops to the country’s parliament.

The South Korean leader is banned from foreign travel as part of an “insurrection” probe into his inner circle over the dramatic events of December 3-4 that stunned South Korea’s allies.

A probe into last week’s turmoil has swiftly gathered pace, with police on Wednesday attempting to raid Yoon’s office to investigate his brief imposition of martial law.

Facing an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, Yoon vowed to “fight with the people until the very last minute”.

“I apologise again to the ­people who must have been surprised and anxious due to the martial law,” he said in a televised address.

“Please trust me in my warm loyalty to the people.”

Democratic Party politician Jo Seung-lae told AFP that Saturday’s impeachment vote would take place about 5pm local time.

The motion needs to win support from eight members of the ruling People Power Party to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.

On Thursday, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon urged party members to attend the meeting and vote “according to their conviction and conscience”.

South Korean police on Wednesday said security guards were blocking a raid on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s offices to investigate his brief imposition of martial law.

Police said earlier that a ­Special Investigation Team “has conducted a raid” on the presidential office, on different police agencies and on the National Assembly Security Service.

Later, a spokesman said investigators had “gained access to its civil services office”.

“However, we are currently unable to enter the main building due to access restrictions imposed by the presidential security guards.”

The president’s office was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

South Korea’s capital, Seoul, has been rocked by daily protests since last week, with thousands of people gathering to demand Yoon’s resignation.

And Yoon’s inner circle has come under intense scrutiny for their alleged role in last week’s martial law declaration.

Prison authorities on Wednesday said former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun tried to kill himself shortly before his formal ­arrest the previous day.

Kim, who is accused of urging Yoon to impose martial law, was first detained on Sunday, and later formally arrested on charges of “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights”.

The justice ministry and a prison official said he was in good health on Wednesday.

The former interior minister and the general in charge of the martial law operation are also barred from foreign travel.

Two senior police officials were also arrested early on ­ Wednesday.

The PPP has said that pending Yoon’s resignation, he has agreed to hand power to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and party chief Han.

But Yoon on Thursday remained defiant, accusing the opposition of having pushed the country into a “national crisis”.

“The National Assembly, dominated by the large opposition party, has become a monster that destroys the consti­tution­al order of liberal democracy,” Yoon said in a televised address.

But, he said, he would “not avoid legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law”.

Yoon had said his declaration of martial law was intended, in part, to safeguard South Korea “from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements”.

Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Tokyo on Tuesday that Washington’s deterrence commitment to South Korea – where it has around 28,500 troops – and to Japan remained “iron-clad”.

AFP