Gwangju Democracy Elder: "Yoon's Arrest... 'Han-Han Statement' is a Second Coup"

"‘Unconstitutional Power Seizure Actions, People Power Party Must Be Disbanded’
Press Conference at Jeonil Building... ‘Prosecutors Have No Right to Investigate’"

On the 9th, senior democracy activists from the Gwangju region, who have dedicated themselves to the democratization movement since the military regime era, held an emergency meeting at the Dong-gu Jeonil Building 245 Citizen Maru, urging the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol over the emergency martial law situation. Photo by Min Chan-gi

Senior democracy activists in the Gwangju region, who have dedicated themselves to the democratization movement since the military regime era, have called for the "arrest of President Yoon Seok-yeol" and the "cessation of the People Power Party's unconstitutional seizure of power."

About 20 advisors of the Gwangju Emergency Action for the Resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Regime held a press conference on the afternoon of the 9th at the 4th floor Citizen Maru of Jeonil Building 245 in Dong-gu, Gwangju, stating, "Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, and Han Duck-soo, Prime Minister, attempted a second coup d'?tat to seize power through a national address the day before," and condemned, "The collusion between Representative Han, Prime Minister Han, who seek to maintain unconstitutional and seditious power, and the People Power Party, which sympathizes with the sedition, is nothing but a coup to seize power."

They demanded, "The National Investigation Headquarters must urgently arrest Representative Han and Prime Minister Han on charges of an extralegal attempt to seize power to extend the sedition," and urged, "The only solution to this abnormal suspension of the constitutional order is to immediately arrest and detain Yoon Seok-yeol for investigation."

They also stated, "On the 7th, the People Power Party revealed itself as a pro-sedition anti-state party by abstaining from the vote on the impeachment motion against the ringleader of the sedition, Yoon Seok-yeol," and insisted, "The National Assembly must immediately push for the dissolution of the anti-state People Power Party and arrest the main culprits who led the party line opposing the impeachment motion."

Furthermore, they pointed out, "The prosecution, which has undermined the rule of law and destroyed democracy through investigations targeting political opponents and enforcement ordinances as servants of power, is not qualified to conduct the sedition investigation," adding, "Their investigation is a ploy to conceal and weaken the criminal facts of the main perpetrators of the sedition and to extend vested interests. The fact that former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, the main perpetrator of the sedition, voluntarily appeared before the prosecution and is only being investigated for abuse of authority demonstrates this."

Meanwhile, the advisory group added, "In the current situation, we once again urge that politics that abandon the people in pursuit of calculations over who will take political leadership must not be repeated."