Embattled South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservative party faces a dilemma: How do members distance themselves from an unpopular leader without delivering a major victory to his political opponents.
For now, they are trying to accomplish this by blocking Yun’s impeachment in a vote in the coming days after martial law was imposed earlier this week, as well as asking him to leave the People’s Power Party, or PPP .
Party leader Han Dong-hoon tried to thread that needle at a meeting with colleagues on Thursday, saying he condemned Yoon’s “unconstitutional martial law,” while also saying he should be considered a “conservative politician.” I need to think about the hearts of my supporters. ,
Han said, “As party leader, I will strive to ensure that this impeachment does not pass to prevent further harm to the people and supporters due to unprepared chaos.”
For the impeachment motion to succeed, the opposition Democratic Party – which controls parliament after a landslide victory in April legislative elections – needs only eight of the 108 lawmakers in the PPP to switch sides and vote to remove Yun. Local newspaper Donga Ilbo reported Friday that at least five party members were still undecided.
For many Conservative MPs, it makes more sense to put themselves in a position to win an election rather than forcing an early vote next year in which they may be defeated. Although Yun is unpopular, his approval rating was 17% even before the failure of martial law, but voting for him now will only help the political fortunes of the Democratic Party and Han’s main rival for the presidency, Lee Jae-myung.
“For lawmakers, the most important consideration in all this is how they can extend their lives,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University in Seoul. “Members of the ruling party are weighing the pros and cons, and they probably think they have more to gain by voting against impeachment this time.”
Opposition leader Lee acknowledged this dynamic in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, saying it could be difficult to get votes out of the ruling party this week. Nevertheless, he said the Democratic Party would continue to push for the president’s removal, even if he survives the initial impeachment motion.
Lee said, “He will be impeached – the only question is whether he will be removed the day after tomorrow, a week later, or a month or three later.”
Lee Jae-myung, center, and other party members protested at the National Assembly in Seoul, demanding Yoon’s resignation. Photo Credit: Bloomberg
For the PPP, its recent history is helping shape its decision making. Some conservative lawmakers who supported the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016 later faced a negative public image for betraying her.
In the wake of that scandal, the conservative faction was rebranded as the PPP. Despite some internal opposition, the party recruited outsider Yoon – a former prosecutor who had helped convict Park – to help clean up its image.
Instead, the party is now trying to avoid another long period in the political wilderness. While Yun has become politically toxic, he supports a tough stance on North Korea and pro-trade policies that appeal to conservative voters.
‘I will take charge’
By blocking an initial impeachment vote, conservative lawmakers can appeal to their base while working to cut ties with Yoon himself. And Han, who is also a former prosecutor and a relative political novice, could use the time to consolidate power.
The PPP’s Han faction has about 20 lawmakers, and they were among those who joined with the opposition early Wednesday morning to reject the martial law order. Now he is trying to persuade other party members, many of whom sit between him and Yun, to defect to his camp.
“I met with the president yesterday, but his perception of the situation was very different from mine and the people’s perception, and it was difficult to empathize with him,” Han told aides on Thursday. He asked for their support, saying, “I will take responsibility and take the lead in fixing this situation.”
While left-leaning opposition leader Lee was confident that Yun would eventually be impeached, others in his party were worried that moving forward with impeachment too quickly would give momentum to conservatives.
Former Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho, who led the passage of the impeachment bill against former leader Park, told local newspaper Donga Ilbo that the opposition needed to woo conservatives and build public support to oust Yun. Should have taken time out.
“The mission of political power is to clean up the national mess and put the country in order,” the newspaper quoted Wu as saying, referring to the opposition. “And if it treats the president’s impeachment like a political battle, it may waste this opportunity and not succeed.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
