Seoul, Feb 17 The South Korean interim leader of the ruling People Power Party on Monday rejected speculation that President Yoon Suk Yeol may voluntarily resign before a ruling on his impeachment trial, calling such a move unrealistic and inappropriate.
Kwon Young-se made the remarks during a debate forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists, when asked about the possibility of Yoon voluntarily stepping down amid concerns his impeachment ruling could trigger clashes between political factions.
"I do not think his resignation would necessarily resolve all these issues, regardless of whether it is legally and constitutionally possible," he said. "It is not appropriate."
Kwon stressed that Yoon's decision to resign is entirely up to himself and not his legal team, referring to recent remarks by the team suggesting it could make a "major decision."
"Such an option is realistically not being considered, and even if it is, it is not the right course of action," he said.
On Yoon's December 3 martial law declaration, Kwon admitted that it was "clearly a mistake" and an "excessive measure."
The Constitutional Court will decide whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him after the Opposition-controlled Parliament voted to impeach him, Yonhap news agency reported.
Last week, a survey showed that nearly 6 out of 10 South Koreans supported impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration. The Constitutional Court appeared to be moving closer to deciding whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.
According to the survey, conducted by Gallup among 1,004 adults aged over 18 from Tuesday to Thursday, 57 per cent of respondents expressed support for Yoon's impeachment, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the previous week.
The respondents cited Yoon's imposition of martial law, violation of the Constitution, and insurrection as reasons for their stance.
Thirty-eight per cent of those surveyed said they were against Yoon's impeachment.
The National Assembly had voted to impeach Yoon after his shocking, though brief, imposition of martial law on December 3. He had been indicted on charges of leading an insurrection and had been arrested.
Yoon was also alleged to have sent military troops to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration and to have planned to arrest key political figures.
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