Yoon Sang-hyun to Cho Kyung-tae: "Yoon Seok-yeol? Why Should We Be the First to Condemn?"

Jokyungtae "From now on, I will refer to him as Mr. Yoon Seok-yeol"
Yoon Sang-hyun "Recalls the party's internal strife during Park Geun-hye's impeachment"

People Power Party lawmaker Jo Kyung-tae referred to President Yoon Suk-yeol as 'Yoon Suk-yeol-ssi,' prompting fellow party member Yoon Sang-hyun to criticize, "'Yoon Suk-yeol-ssi'? What is that?"

Yoon Sang-hyun, People Power Party. Yonhap News Agency

On the 13th, Representative Yoon said on his Facebook, "Even at this moment, I address him as 'President Yoon Suk-yeol'." He added, "I still call Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and removed from office, 'President Park Geun-hye,' and I do not refer to Lee Jae-myung, who is on trial for 12 charges, as 'Lee Jae-myung-ssi'." He continued, "During the recent emergency inquiry, while advocating for the impeachment of the imperial presidency, I urged 'Representative Lee Jae-myung' to make a decision."

Yoon criticized Jo, saying, "Why are we trying to condemn and remove the president ourselves without any legal procedures or investigations?" He added, "If the president insists so strongly, isn't it the basic attitude of the ruling party that appointed him to at least try to understand the content?" He also said, "Isn't it the minimum duty of a ruling party lawmaker who has failed to gather political power until such a situation arises?"

Furthermore, Yoon emphasized, "The party's internal strife during the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye comes to mind," and stressed, "Now is the time to refrain from hasty decisions and to think thrice before speaking (三思一言) and acting (三思一行)."

Assemblyman Jo Kyung-tae of the People Power Party. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, during a party meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Jo told reporters, "Don't talk about that person Yoon Suk-yeol," and said, "From now on, I will call him 'Yoon Suk-yeol-ssi.' Is he really the president? If a person who is the president has even a shred of conscience, he should step down immediately."

Meanwhile, President Yoon held an emergency national address the previous day to explain the background of declaring martial law on the 3rd. President Yoon stated, "The purpose was to inform the public of the anti-state atrocities of the major opposition party and to warn them to stop," adding, "By doing so, we aimed to prevent the collapse of the liberal democratic constitutional order and to normalize state functions."

He continued, "Although the forces deployed to the National Assembly were small in number, it was to symbolically expose the ruinous behavior of the major opposition party and to maintain order in anticipation of a large gathering of National Assembly officials and citizens watching the martial law declaration broadcast. It is clear that it was not intended to dissolve the National Assembly or paralyze its functions." President Yoon also said, "Whether I am impeached or investigated, I will face it with confidence."