Ruling Party Maintains Anti-Impeachment Stance... Yoon Says He Will Listen to Lawmakers' Opinions and Reflect on Them

Handonghun, after afternoon meeting with President Yoon
expressed continued need for suspension
majority of ruling party maintains 'impeachment opposition'
some propose stepping back and emergency national unity cabinet
Choo Kyung-ho, Park Jeong-ha, Joo Jin-woo meet with Yoon in evening

The People Power Party held a 12-hour-long party caucus on the 6th and decided to maintain the party stance opposing the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol.

Shin Dong-wook, the party's chief floor spokesperson, responded to reporters' questions after the emergency party caucus held at the National Assembly in the afternoon, asking if there had been any change in the party stance opposing the impeachment motion against President Yoon, by saying, "There was no talk of changing the party stance. You can understand that it is being maintained."

Earlier, Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, expressed at an emergency Supreme Council meeting in the morning that the party stance rejecting the impeachment motion against President Yoon had been broken and that President Yoon's duties should be promptly suspended.

The People Power Party held a party caucus from morning until late at night to gather opinions within the party regarding the vote on President Yoon's impeachment motion scheduled for the 7th. During the caucus, Han visited the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, at the president's request for a meeting, and after returning to the caucus hall, he said, "I did not hear anything from the president that would overturn this judgment."

Han said, "Without special measures regarding the attempted arrests of politicians on the day of the martial law declaration, the situation cannot be resolved," and pointed out, "The past Choi Soon-sil case involved close aides embezzling, but this is different. This is a serious situation where the military was mobilized to declare martial law against the people and entered the National Assembly."

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However, it is known that the majority of People Power Party lawmakers continue to oppose the impeachment of President Yoon. During the caucus, lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, who met with reporters, said, "I wrote down all the lawmakers' positions while I was there, and there was never any support for impeachment," adding, "There is no change in the trend."

Provincial governors affiliated with the People Power Party also urged President Yoon to form an emergency national unity cabinet and step back from frontline politics, saying, "Impeachment must be avoided." The party's standing advisory group requested that President Yoon clarify the details of the martial law incident and that the party remain united until all suspicions are resolved.

Chief floor spokesperson Shin said, "Floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, Party Secretary-General Park Jeong-ha, and lawmaker Joo Jin-woo visited the Yongsan Presidential Office in the evening and conveyed the opinions raised at the party caucus regarding the 'martial law incident' situation without any omission." Shin added that President Yoon responded, "I understand well. I will listen carefully to the lawmakers' intentions and consider them."

When asked whether the demand for President Yoon to step back from frontline politics was conveyed, Shin replied, "Not at all. We did not bring a specific list of demands to discuss." Regarding whether President Yoon issued a public apology related to the martial law incident, he said, "It is difficult to provide specific comments at this time," and did not answer further.

Regarding the phone call between President Yoon and Floor Leader Choo immediately after the martial law declaration, Shin said, "(Floor Leader Choo) seems to have received the call while moving from the party office to the National Assembly. He said, 'The president explained in the statement that martial law was declared for various reasons. He apologized for not informing us in advance,'" adding, "There is no way there was no communication between President Yoon and the floor leader."

This is interpreted as a rebuttal to the Democratic Party's consideration of filing charges of treason, alleging that Floor Leader Choo, amid the urgent situation of the illegal martial law declaration, stirred confusion among his party lawmakers, obstructed the resolution demanding the lifting of martial law, and requested the Speaker of the National Assembly to delay the vote.

The People Power Party plans to hold another party caucus at 9 a.m. on the 7th to discuss the response to the plenary session of the National Assembly regarding President Yoon's impeachment motion and the special investigation law on First Lady Kim Geon-hee.

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