South Korea’s president should “withdraw from state affairs” after failed coup.

South Korea’s president should “withdraw from state affairs” after failed coup.

Unlock Editor’s Digest for free

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will step away from state affairs, including leading the country’s diplomacy, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced on Sunday, as his Cabinet seeks to negotiate an “orderly exit.”

Yoon survived an impeachment attempt on Saturday evening after members of his conservative People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote amid chaotic scenes in the country’s National Assembly.

The result of the vote, greeted with dismay by hundreds of thousands of people gathered outside parliament, is likely to prolong the growing political crisis in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Opposition parties have vowed to file the same impeachment motion every week until Yoon resigns or is fired over his failed attempt to impose military rule. He sent troops to prevent Parliament from overriding his martial law decree.

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon defended his party’s decision to boycott the impeachment vote, saying its leaders would “seek an orderly resignation of Yoon” to “minimize confusion and turmoil.”

On Sunday, Han said in a joint public appearance with the prime minister that “President Yoon will not be involved in the management of state affairs, including diplomacy, even before his resignation.”

“The government will do its best to maintain the trust of our allies,” said Prime Minister Han, a Yoon appointee and career technocrat. “Most importantly, the approval of the government’s budget and related bills is key to the normal operation of the country.”

Analysts said the PPP’s strategy appeared to be to avoid a split over an impeachment vote while buying time to prepare for a presidential election that would follow Yoon’s departure.

But they warned that the party’s deal with the president, which included a brief, televised apology in his only public appearance since the withdrawal of the martial law decree, was unlikely to quell growing public anger.

On Sunday, prosecutors said they had arrested former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a high school classmate of the president who is accused of playing a central role in planning and executing the doomed martial law exercise. Kim resigned from office after the apparent coup attempt.

Yoon, a staunch pro-American best known in the United States for his performance of “American Pie” at a state dinner in Washington last year, has restored ties with neighboring Japan and taken a more aggressive stance toward North Korea and China than his left-wing predecessor Moon Jae-in.

Western diplomats expect a left-wing successor to halt nascent trilateral military and political cooperation with the United States and Japan, pursue a more conciliatory line with North Korea, China and Russia and rule out arms sales to Ukraine.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *