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Seoul
In what comes as the last straw for embattled South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the country’s ruling party chief has asked him to "suspend his duties soon" following the martial law fiasco. People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Doong-hoon said that citizens of the nation would be in "great danger" if Yoon remained in power.
Doong-hoon added that his party has received “credible” evidence that Yoon had planned to arrest key politicians on "anti-state charges" upon declaring the emergency martial law Tuesday night (Dec 3).
It marks a major shift in PPP’s stance which earlier vowed to throw its weight behind Yoon as the opposition parties had submitted a proposal to impeach the president in the parliament. The Opposition needs support from just eight ruling party MPs to get enough to oust Yoon.
Han also expressed concerns that “extreme actions” can be repeated in the country if Yoon continued to occupy the presidential office. According to BBC, some lawmakers are staying close to the National Assembly so that they can veto another attempt by Yoon to impose martial law.
Also read: S Korea martial law fiasco: Defence minister resigns as prez Yoon faces impeachment
With this declaration by the PPP chief, it has become clear that Yoon’s own party may vote in support of impeaching him.
PPP lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae earlier became the first ruling party MP to publicly declare he would vote to support the president’s impeachment.
"The choice between standing on the side of the people by suspending the president's duties or becoming an ally of the forces that imposed martial law is a matter for politicians to judge," Cho said on Friday.
Watch: South Korea Prez Yoon Suk Yeol Imposes Martial Law, Then Reverses It: What's Next?
"I hope that all the politicians of the People's Power will stand on the side of the people," he added.
A two-thirds majority is required in South Korea’s 300-member parliament to impeach the president.
Opposition parties, including the main Democratic Party, occupy 192 seats.
(With inputs from agencies)