SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's ruling party leader Thursday called for supporting impeachment against President Yoon Suk-yeol as its party stance.
The remarks by Han Dong-hoon, chief of Yoon's own People Power Party, came after the president delivered a televised address to the nation in which he justified his hugely controversial martial law decision.
Earlier in the day, Han already called on his party's lawmakers to vote on Yoon's impeachment based on their own "conviction".
"We must stop further confusion. There is only one effective method now," Han said at a press conference. "In the next (impeachment motion) vote, our party's lawmakers should enter the assembly hall and take part in the vote based on their own conviction and conscience."
The People Power Party had initially refused to back impeachment, hoping Yoon would resign from office instead. But its leadership said attempts to persuade Yoon had made no progress.
Earlier in the day, Yoon defended his move to impose a short-lived martial law and showed no will to step down in a televised address to the nation.
The president justified his declaration of the emergency martial law last week as "an act of governing" that should not be "subject to legal judgment."
Yoon said that he tried to protect the country's liberal democracy and the constitutional order against the "legislative dictatorship" of the majority opposition that committed legislative violence with the majority power.
Yoon also accused the opposition of framing insurrection charges and paralyzing state affairs with the abuse of impeachment, noting he would face impeachment or investigation "confidently."
Yoon declared the martial law on the night of Dec. 3, but it was revoked by the National Assembly hours later■