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Kim Moon-soo compares Yoon impeachment to 'communist states like North Korea'

Published: 15 May. 2025, 15:15 Updated: 15 May. 2025, 18:02

People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo speaks during a news conference in Yeouido, western Seoul, on May 15. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Kim Moon-soo, presidential candidate for the conservative People Power Party (PPP), apologized once again for former president Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law but called the Constitutional Court “communist” for unanimously deciding to impeach him.

Kim’s remarks were made during a second apology on Thursday, speaking at an emergency news conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. His first apology was delivered to the public on Monday, around 160 days after Yoon's botched attempt to enforce military power over the nation.

“Even if martial law is a power granted to the president under the Constitution in times of emergency, it should not be invoked unless the country is in a state of chaos that cannot be controlled by police forces alone,” said Kim.

“If I had known in advance, I would have told President Yoon that martial law was not an option and explained why in detail,” he said. “I sincerely and respectfully apologize.”

However, Kim took issue with the Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling in Yoon’s impeachment case.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, greet supporters as they leave the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, central Seoul, and head to their private home in Seocho-dong on April 11, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

“The verdict was eight to zero — and not just this time,” said Kim. “It was the same with former President Park Geun-hye. Maybe journalists are okay with it, but unanimous decisions like that are common in communist states like North Korea under Kim Jong-un or China under President Xi Jinping.”

“I believe the Republic of Korea is a great liberal democracy,” he said. “A court that fails to reflect diverse perspectives and viewpoints poses a grave threat to our democracy.”

When asked whether Yoon should leave the party, Kim once again drew the line: “That’s for President Yoon to decide.”

“As a presidential candidate, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to say whether he should leave or stay.”

Police stand in front of a picket sign that denounces former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as a North Korean communist spy in front of the National Assembly complex in western Seoul on Dec. 8, 2024. [KIM MIN-YOUNG]

Kim vowed there would be no imposition of martial law if he were elected president. “Even if a president has the emergency power to declare martial law, I would never exercise that authority,” he said.

“Some call us a ‘martial law party,’ and even worse, some say we are the ‘insurrection party,’” Kim said. “Isn’t the Democratic Party [DP] the real insurrection party? Their legislative moves are nothing short of legislative rebellion meant to shield their own crimes.”

Kim attacked the liberal DP for unilaterally passing revisions to the Public Official Election Act and the Criminal Procedure Act in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, claiming the bills were aimed at exonerating DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks while on the campaign trail in Busan on May 14. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]

“They’re pushing through five evil self-pardoning bills just for Lee,” Kim said.

“Erasing a powerful figure’s crimes through legislation and intimidating the judiciary is a crime that destroys liberal democracy,” he continued. “If Lee becomes president, he’ll sign those five self-exonerating bills into law to erase his own wrongdoings.”

Kim also commented on the reinstatement of Jang Ye-chan, a former senior PPP official who ran as an independent after his nomination was rescinded last year due to his controversial remarks.

“Some members have been unintentionally outside the party, but I will embrace all of them,” Kim said. “Like a blast furnace, we will melt down our differences with passionate unity to foster the talent this country needs.”

People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo bows to his supporters while on the campaign trail on May 12 in Daegu. [NEWS1]

Kim tried to distance himself from the controversy surrounding former Defense Minister Chung Ho-yong’s appointment and dismissal.

“I was on a local schedule for three days and was not consulted on that matter,” Kim said. “It seems to have been a clerical error.”

The PPP’s central election committee had appointed Chung, a key figure in the military junta of the Fifth Republic, as a senior adviser on Thursday but reversed the decision within five hours due to public backlash.

Chung was convicted in 1997 for his role in the Dec. 12 military coup and the suppression of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, receiving a seven-year prison sentence.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]