'Communication with the Public VS Practicality' Yoon Chooses Practicality Amid Deliberation... Focuses on Impeachment Defense

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"Is it about communicating with the public or practicality?" As the backlash over the 'martial law' intensifies, President Yoon Suk-yeol has entered a period of deliberation over the level of response but has chosen practicality for now. Although various cards such as a national address, press conference, and apology statement are being actively considered to appease the angry public opinion, finding a sharp solution has proven difficult, so the focus is on concentrating all efforts on the imminent 'impeachment defense.'

Confusion continues daily at the Presidential Office as well on the 5th. Reports have been circulating about various possibilities for President Yoon's response, including a statement or apology from the previous night until the morning of the day, as efforts to find follow-up measures continue both inside and outside the National Assembly. However, President Yoon has remained silent without issuing any separate statement so far. This is interpreted as prioritizing internal vote consolidation ahead of the opposition-led impeachment vote scheduled for 7 p.m. on the 7th, rather than calming the deteriorated public opinion immediately.

A Presidential Office official conveyed the atmosphere, saying, "The aides have a strong sense of crisis that the situation must be properly managed, but there are differing opinions on the solution." Some suggest that since President Yoon maintains the position that the martial law was due to the 'opposition party's fault,' he might draw a line at impeachment or resignation possibilities and only apologize for causing political turmoil.

According to the Presidential Office, President Yoon has been struggling to devise a recovery plan without issuing a separate statement for two days following the martial law incident. Initially, there were talks in political circles that President Yoon would make a public address either the previous night or the morning of the day, but a key Presidential Office official confirmed, "There will be no separate address today." There is also speculation that past cases where public addresses worsened public opinion might be why a national address is not being made easily.

Instead, President Yoon began his first official work after the martial law incident by accepting the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is known to have proposed and led the martial law declaration earlier that morning. Initially, Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, proposed three follow-up measures at the emergency party meeting: 'total cabinet resignation, dismissal of the Defense Minister, and the president's withdrawal from the party.' However, President Yoon chose to accept the resignation rather than dismiss him. After the announcement of Kim's dismissal, Han again demanded that the president leave the People Power Party.

Jung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, is giving a personnel briefing on the 5th at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul.
President Yoon Suk-yeol announced that he accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and appointed Choi Byung-hyuk, the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, as the new Minister of National Defense. Yonhap News Agency

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President Yoon's silence is interpreted as an intention to first extinguish the urgent fire of the impeachment vote. The previous day, President Yoon met with key party and government figures, including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Party Leader Han, and Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party, at the Yongsan Presidential Office to discuss countermeasures. At this meeting, President Yoon reportedly explained that the declaration of martial law was a response to the opposition party's reckless behavior causing government paralysis and was merely a warning measure.

In particular, President Yoon emphasized that although the military was deployed to the National Assembly under martial law, it did not actively arrest lawmakers or block the plenary session, highlighting that the declaration and lifting of martial law complied with laws and procedures. Given that the Democratic Party had reported the impeachment motion against President Yoon to the National Assembly plenary session the previous day, it seems that the priority was to stabilize internal party turmoil and prevent possible defection votes from the pro-Han (pro-Han Dong-hoon) faction. Indeed, after the meeting, the People Power Party adopted opposition to the impeachment motion as the party line, and Leader Han also stated, "We will strive to prevent the passage of the impeachment motion."

However, there is also a possibility that President Yoon will issue a statement explaining the background and process of the martial law declaration before or after the National Assembly vote. The Presidential Office is reportedly considering strategies to minimize the damage caused by the martial law incident. In fact, the Presidential Office explained to foreign media the previous day that "this martial law was a kind of political activity regulation measure" and that "the president, as a constitutionalist, made a decisive move against forces destroying liberal democracy."

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