Senior Yeo Lawmakers: "Oppose Yoon's Impeachment... We Cannot Oust Him Ourselves"

Kim Ki-hyun "Thought Han Dong-hoon was talking about Lee Jae-myung"
Won Hee-ryong "Must not get caught up with the opposition party"
Yoon Sang-hyun "Impeachment not acceptable for the future of Republic of Korea"

Even after the remarks by Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, senior members of the ruling party have publicly expressed opposition to the 'impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol.'

Kim Ki-hyun, a former leader of the People Power Party, posted on his social media on the 6th, "Is presidential impeachment a trivial matter that can be flipped like a child's palm?" He questioned, "If we impeach the president we elected with our own hands again, can we even ask the people for votes next time?"

On the morning of the 5th, Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, along with other lawmakers, held a rally on the stairs of the Rotunda Hall in the National Assembly condemning the Democratic Party's push for the impeachment of the Board of Audit and Inspection chief and prosecutors. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim criticized, "Han Dong-hoon leader stated today that the president's prompt suspension from duty is necessary, effectively indicating his intention to join the impeachment," adding, "It is confusing whether this is not the story of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party."

On the same day, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, held an emergency Supreme Council meeting and announced, "I judge that the prompt suspension of President Yoon Seok-yeol's duties is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people." He reversed the party's previous stance opposing the impeachment motion against President Yoon, citing the mobilization of intelligence agencies to arrest key politicians and the failure to take personnel actions against responsible military officials as grounds.

Kim emphasized, "As a party member who has been loyal for nearly 22 years, and as a responsible member who has served as floor leader and party leader, I oppose the claim that we should oust the president we pleaded with the people to elect with our own hands."

Former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong stated, "I absolutely cannot agree to impeachment that divides the Republic of Korea," and added, "We should not get caught up in the background behind the opposition party rushing the impeachment like that." He suggested, "What we need to do now is to alleviate the public's anxiety and resolve the uncertainty the world has about Korea," and "The president should manage the national crisis, and the methods of taking responsibility according to the investigation results should be carried out orderly in the future."

Yoon Sang-hyun, a five-term lawmaker of the People Power Party, also stated that he cannot join the impeachment not to protect President Yoon but to protect the Korean system and future. Yoon said, "President Yoon's emergency martial law cannot be justified under any circumstances," but added, "The emergency martial law situation involving President Yoon must be comprehensively reviewed through sufficient investigation, fact verification, and judicial issues." He expressed, "Presidential impeachment is a major turning point in the constitutional order," and "I cannot join the opposition party's claims without fact verification."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.