‘We don't even know who’s running the country’: South Korea’s ruling party stalls for time amid leadership crisis
“Something needs to be done and if the People Power Party (PPP) can't undertake this, they're going to be the ones who will fall apart and end up having to rebrand themselves,” said one expert on the crisis.
A caricature depicting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is seen in front of the ruling People Power Party's head office in Seoul, South Korea, Dec 9, 2024. (Photo: AP/Lee Jin-man)
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South Korea’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) is stalling for time as it attempts to engineer an “orderly” exit for President Yoon Suk Yeol, and show it is on top of the political stalemate gripping the nation, said observers.
The party is discussing a roadmap for his early resignation.
But the PPP has been vague on how soon this will take place, said David Hundt, associate professor of international relations at Deakin University.
“They talk of this early exit as something that will occur. They seem quite adamant that it will occur,” he told CNA938.
“But they're not saying when that might be, and I suppose there's also many procedural questions that are left unanswered.”
The PPP said on Sunday (Dec 8) that the embattled president will step down before his single five-year term ends in May 2027.
Yoon will not be involved in foreign and other state affairs before his exit, party leader Han Dong-hoon said after a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Yoon’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law last Tuesday threw South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades, sparking angry protests across Seoul and calls for him to be removed from office.
CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS
“I think the PPP wants more time to get ready and manage this as best they can. But the longer this goes on, the more unpopular it's gonna be,” Andrew Gilholm, head of analysis for Greater China and North Asia at global risk consultancy Control Risks, told CNA’s Asia Now.
“Right now, Yoon is still technically the president. The PPP, his party, has no constitutional basis for ruling in his place.”
Jeffrey Robertson, associate professor of diplomatic studies at Yonsei University, added: “We have at the moment a constitutional crisis, where we don't even know who is actually running the country.”
He believes the PPP wants “to show that they are able to control the situation and they are responsible for ending the chaos”.
“If it is just a simple impeachment, then it looks like the opposition party was responsible for ending all of this chaos,” he told CNA’s Asia First.
“But if the prime minister and the party leader are able to demonstrate that they're in control and able to resolve the crisis, then it looks like they have had more influence and they are in control of the situation. But I don't think anyone's buying it.”
This comes as South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said on Sunday that it will make another attempt to impeach the president.
SURVIVING IMPEACHMENT
On Saturday, Yoon averted impeachment after his party’s near-total boycott of proceedings despite large demonstrations outside parliament.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the DP, said that they will try again to impeach Yoon on Dec 14, after failing to secure the two-thirds majority needed.
Robertson said Lee is likely to want it done as soon as possible, “given the support that he has already garnered for showing his opposition to the imposition of martial law and given the support which is building every day”.
“The public opinion in South Korea is fairly well unified behind the idea that President Yoon should be impeached and should leave office quite soon,” said Hundt.
He added some ruling party’s members, concerned about the reaction of their local constituents, could well vote in favour of the impeachment motion.
But even if the impeachment is approved, a trial has to be held before the constitutional court, which would either confirm or reject it.
Experts said this will be a slow process, which could take up to six months.
For an impeachment motion to pass, six of the court's nine justices must vote in favour.
Gilholm pointed out there is another round of uncertainty, as the court is currently operating with only six of its nine justice positions filled. Successors for three justices who retired in October have yet to be elected.
EARLY RESIGNATION
On the other hand, if Yoon leaves office before his term ends, the constitution requires a presidential election within 60 days of his departure.
Observers believe this is another reason the PPP is making the move to force Yoon’s resignation, as it is likely to lose an election under current circumstances.
The permanent damage to the PPP has already been done, stressed Robertson when asked how long the party can keep stalling.
“Every day that the chaos keeps going on, it weakens the government and it weakens the PPP.”
He added: “They're in dire straits. There's strikes, there's demonstrations. It's just absolute chaos.
“So something needs to be done and if the PPP can't undertake this, they're going to be the ones who will fall apart and end up having to rebrand themselves.”
On Saturday, the president apologised over his martial law fiasco, but stopped short of resigning ahead of the impeachment vote.
Yoon and a slew of top officials are now being investigated for insurrection.
On whether he is likely to step down voluntarily, Robertson said: “Trying to know what Yoon is actually thinking before he imposed martial law is beyond all belief. And what he is actually contemplating right now, again it's impossible to know.”
