Yoon's 67-Minute Final Statement... "Sorry to the People," Announces Plan to Return to Duty (Comprehensive)

Yoon's Final Statement: Denies All Impeachment Issues
Mentions Opposition Party 48 Times, Spy 25, North Korea 15, Constitutional Amendment 6

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who appeared at the final hearing of the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial, stated, "I will not be concerned with the remaining term and will consider constitutional amendment and political reform as my final mission, doing my best to improve the '87 system." This was the first time he directly revealed his plans after resuming his duties.

During the final argument held from 9:05 p.m. on the 25th, President Yoon said, "I will devote myself to quickly pushing for constitutional amendment by gathering the will of the people to create a constitution and political structure that fit the changes in our society." This marked the first time in constitutional history that a sitting president made a final statement in an impeachment trial.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the 8th impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. <2025.2.13 Photo by Joint Press Corps>

He also expressed his position that he would not be concerned with the remaining term if the constitutional amendment is realized. President Yoon said, "Since national unity is achieved through the constitution and constitutional values, I believe that if constitutional amendment and political reform are properly promoted, the divided and fractured people will be united in the process," adding, "If that happens, there will be no reason to be concerned with the remaining term under the current constitution, and rather, I consider it a great honor."

If the Constitutional Court dismisses the impeachment and he returns to office, he intends to revise the current constitutional system, which is represented by the 1987 direct presidential election amendment. His statement about not being concerned with the remaining term is interpreted as his intention to implement the amended constitution before the end of his term. Given that discussions about the 'four-year presidential two-term system' have been ongoing in the political sphere, it is speculated that this was taken into consideration.

President Yoon said, "I want to first express my apologies and gratitude to the people," but also stated, "The past martial law and the December 3 emergency martial law are different from the past." He reiterated that it was an 'enlightenment order' for a national appeal during a national crisis. He claimed, "Many people may have negative memories associated with the word martial law," and "The major opposition party and the forces plotting rebellion are exploiting this trauma to incite the people."

He raised his voice, emphasizing that unlike past martial law that oppressed the people with force, this martial law was merely a 'national appeal' in form. He said, "The declaration of emergency martial law is a declaration that this country is currently in a disastrous crisis, and it is a desperate appeal asking the sovereign people to face the situation and join in overcoming it," adding, "Above all, I want to make it clear that this was never a choice for me personally, Yoon Seok-yeol."

He also reiterated the metaphor of 'moonlight reflected on the lake' to completely deny allegations of ordering the arrest of politicians. He said, "Does it make sense to deploy a very small number of troops and order the arrest and removal of members of the National Assembly?" He added, "Not a single person was dragged out or arrested, and although there were cases of soldiers being assaulted by civilians, there was not a single case of civilians being assaulted or harmed." He argued, "Making such claims about something that did not and could not happen is as absurd as trying to scoop up moonlight reflected on the lake."

President Yoon also repeated his claim that the emergency martial law is being used to frame him with a 'conspiracy operation.' He said, "The major opposition party claims that I declared emergency martial law to become a dictator and extend my rule, accusing me of rebellion," and questioned, "If that were really the case, would I have deployed only about 280 troops who were not even operational leaders?" He had previously testified that "the conspiracy of rebellion and impeachment began centered on former National Intelligence Service First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won and former Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-geun."

President Yoon's final statement lasted 67 minutes as he read through a 77-page document. The word that appeared most frequently that day was 'opposition party,' which he mentioned 48 times. Other frequently mentioned words included 'spy' 25 times, 'North Korea' 15 times, and 'constitutional amendment' 6 times.

Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae of the Constitutional Court and constitutional justices are seated at the 11th hearing of the presidential impeachment trial held on the afternoon of the 25th at the Grand Bench of the Constitutional Court in Jaedong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2025.02.25 Photo by Joint Press Corps

Meanwhile, although the impeachment trial began at 2 p.m., President Yoon appeared around 9 p.m., seven hours later. In the previous seven hearings, he had always appeared on time, but on this day, he arrived at the Constitutional Court just as the final statement was about to begin.

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