President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday defended his botched attempt to put South Korea under martial law last week, vowing to “fight to the end” despite the opposition-dominated legislature’s push to impeach him and his own party’s demand that he resign from office.
In an unexpected speech, Mr. Yoon said he had never meant to disrupt the “constitutional order” when he declared martial law on Dec. 3 and sent hundreds of troops into the National Assembly. He said he had done so to “save the country” from what he called the “anti-state” opposition parties, which he accused of using their legislative majority to paralyze the nation.
Mr. Yoon said his action was a legitimate exercise of his constitutional powers and did not amount to insurrection, as the opposition has charged.
“I will fight to the end,” he said.
Mr. Yoon’s People Power Party, which blocked opposition lawmakers’ attempt to impeach him on Saturday, recommended this week that he instead resign in February or March. That would mean a new presidential election in April or May, which the party argued was the swiftest way to end the political turmoil triggered by the short-lived martial law decree.
But Mr. Yoon indicated in his speech that he intended to remain in office, and that he would fight his removal at the Constitutional Court if he were impeached.
An impeachment would result in his suspension from office while the Constitutional Court decided whether to reinstate or formally remove him. The court’s deliberations could take up to six months.
Opposition lawmakers plan to hold another impeachment vote on Saturday. Six of the 108 lawmakers in Mr. Yoon’s party have said they would vote for impeachment. The opposition needs just two more deserters from the party to pass the bill.
Han Dong-hoon, the chairman of Mr. Yoon’s party, who is not a lawmaker, said after the president’s speech that he now supported impeachment. “He was not repenting but justifying” his martial law, Mr. Han said. “Our people will never tolerate his speech and it cannot be tolerated under democratic norms.”
But Kwon Seong-dong, a Yoon ally who was elected as the party’s floor leader on Thursday, said its policy of opposing impeachment had not changed. The meeting at which Mr. Kwon was elected turned into a shouting match between Mr. Han and party members loyal to Mr. Yoon.
Mr. Yoon also faces the possibility of arrest, as prosecutors and the police investigate the question of whether he had committed insurrection — a crime that carries the death penalty or life imprisonment for those who are deemed ringleaders. He has been barred from leaving the country while the investigation continues.
Opposition lawmakers say Mr. Yoon sent troops to the National Assembly after declaring martial law in order to stop them from voting to reverse the decree, which the Constitution empowers the legislature to do.
Mr. Yoon said on Thursday that he had never intended to prevent the vote. He said he had deployed the thousands of police officers and hundreds of Special Forces troops only to maintain order, expecting that protesters would gather outside the legislature. He denounced the opposition’s accusation as “a false instigation.”
“I will proudly confront it, whether it’s impeachment or investigation,” he said.
In his speech, Mr. Yoon cited a litany of complaints against opposition lawmakers as justification for his actions. He accused them of slashing his budgets for reinvigorating South Korea’s nuclear power industry and investigating drug traffickers, foreign spies and other criminals. He also accused them of repeatedly trying to impeach officials in his government and organizing frequent protest rallies, which he said were meant to push him out of office.
“They have become a monster that ruins the free democratic constitutional order of South Korea,” he said. “I had to do something.”
He said he had declared martial law merely to alert the public to the opposition’s “acts ruinous to the nation” and as a “warning” to lawmakers to stop obstructing his agenda.
Mr. Yoon’s claim that he had not intended to stop lawmakers from voting against martial law contradicts testimony given by military officers in recent days.
In a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, who commanded the Special Forces troops sent to the National Assembly, said that Mr. Yoon had called him personally during the operation, ordering him to have soldiers “break the door down right now, get in there and drag out the people inside” so that there would not be enough lawmakers to vote against martial law.
The troops broke into the main National Assembly building, where the lawmakers were gathering, but they were held off by parliamentary staff members and angry citizens. They retreated after the lawmakers unanimously voted against martial law, forcing Mr. Yoon to withdraw it. It lasted only six hours.
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