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S. Korean ruling party leader resigns after president's impeachment

16 December 2024 09:25 (UTC +04:00)

PPP chair Han Dong-hun, a strong critic of Yoon's martial law, announced his resignation as the Constitutional Court began its first meeting Monday on Yoon Suk Yeol's case to determine whether to remove him from office or reinstate him, APA reports citing Le Monde.

South Korean law enforcement authorities are pushing to summon impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree as the Constitutional Court began its first meeting Monday, December 16, on Yoon's case to determine whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. A joint investigative team involving police, an anti-corruption agency and the Defense Ministry said it plans to convey a request to Yoon's office that he appear for questioning on Wednesday, as they expand a probe into whether his ill-conceived power grab amounted to rebellion.

The team on Monday morning tried to convey a request to Yoon’s office that he appear for questioning on Wednesday but was rerouted to Yoon’s personal residence, Son Yeong-jo, an investigator with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, told reporters.

Son cited presidential secretarial staff as claiming they were unsure whether conveying the request to the impeached president was part of their duties. He declined to provide specifics when asked how investigators would respond if Yoon refused to appear.

Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Saturday over his Dec. 3 martial law decree. His presidential powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.

Yoon has justified his martial law enforcement as a necessary act of governance against the main liberal opposition Democratic Party that he described as "anti-state forces" bogging down his agendas and vowed to "fight to the end" against efforts to remove him from office. Hundreds of thousands of protesters have poured onto the streets of the country's capital, Seoul, in recent days, calling for Yoon's ouster and arrest.