Yoon blames DP for martial law in first prison meeting with PPP lawmakers
Published: 03 Feb. 2025, 19:11
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![People Power Party Rep. Na Kyung-won, left, speaks to reporters after visiting President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/03/4fb28e95-237f-4a43-bcbe-2af7f46c2776.jpg)
People Power Party Rep. Na Kyung-won, left, speaks to reporters after visiting President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [YONHAP]
President Yoon Suk Yeol claimed on Monday that the actions of the liberal Democratic Party drove him to declare martial law, according to one of three lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) who visited him in prison.
The visit by the PPP officials marked the first time Yoon has spoken face-to-face with members of his own party since he was detained on Jan. 15.
The PPP delegation that visited Yoon at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, included PPP interim leader Kwon Young-se, floor leader Kweon Seong-dong and five-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won.
Kweon and Na were also present when the investigators took Yoon into custody at his official residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 15 on charges of masterminding a military-led insurrection by declaring martial law the previous month.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the impeached leader, Na said Yoon “felt with a heavy heart that he had to take some steps as president to overcome the one-party dictatorship in the National Assembly,” where the liberal Democratic Party (DP) holds a large majority.
Yoon further cited the DP’s “repeated attempts to impeach government officials and to slash the annual budget for this year” as the main drivers of his decision to declare martial law.
According to Na, the president “expressed relief” that the ongoing political crisis over his martial law decree “has exposed the DP’s unilateral way of doing things and thus effectively paralyzing state affairs.”
After passing an impeachment motion against Yoon on Dec. 14, the DP also impeached Prime Minister Han Duck-soo over his refusal to appoint three nominees for the Constitutional Court, which is overseeing Yoon’s impeachment trial.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok later appointed two of the candidates upon succeeding Han as acting president, but has held out on confirming the third nominee, Ma Eun-hyeok, citing a continuing lack of bipartisan consensus.
The DP has warned that Choi, too, could face impeachment if he does not appoint Ma.
Na also said the president shared concerns with Kweon and Kwon over allegations of bias against the Constitutional Court.
The PPP floor leader cited his concern for Yoon as a “human being” as his motive for visiting the impeached president at his jail in his comments the previous day.
Na noted that the impeached president “expressed much concern over Korea in the current international climate and uncertainties wracking the global economy.”
She added that the president called on the PPP to “unite and inspire hope in the country’s people and youth.”
After hitting a rock-bottom low in the wake of Yoon’s martial law declaration in December, the PPP’s support in recent public opinion surveys has rebounded.
In a Gallup poll released on Jan. 24, the gap between support for the PPP and the DP has narrowed to fall into the margin of error.
In that poll, 40 percent of respondents supported the DP, and 38 percent backed the PPP.
The survey also showed that 15 percent of eligible voters have no political preference.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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