People Power Party Lawmakers Bow Heads Over 'Yoon Impeachment Resolution Passed'... "Sorry to the People"

Jokyungtae "We Must Seriously Accept the Circumstances Leading to Impeachment"
Kim Gihyeon "Korea Faces Misfortune Again... Reorganizing into a Healthy Conservative Party"

On the 14th, members of the People Power Party apologized to the public immediately after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Kim Sang-wook, a member of the People Power Party, told reporters he met with after the plenary session of the National Assembly that day, regarding the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon, "A person unqualified to be president has stepped down from the presidency. The people have won," adding, "As a ruling party lawmaker, I am truly sorry to the people."

Kim participated in the emergency martial law lifting resolution in the early morning of the 4th and the first impeachment vote against President Yoon on the 7th. On this day, he also held a one-person protest in front of the Jeonghyeon Hall of the National Assembly main building, urging support for the impeachment motion.

He continued, "I apologize again to the people, and I hope this incident will serve as an opportunity for democracy in the Republic of Korea to mature further," expressing, "I hope such an incident never happens again."

Speaker Woo Won-shik is announcing the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol at the 4th plenary session of the 419th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Cho Kyung-tae, the longest-serving (six-term) member of the People Power Party, also told reporters, "Through President Yoon’s early resignation, we hoped the people would feel stable and reassured, and although the suspension of duties by impeachment came late, it has provided the people with reassurance," adding, "Our party must seriously accept the fact that the president reached the point of impeachment and must reflect and apologize to the people."

Pro-Yoon figures who opposed the impeachment motion also issued statements. Kim Ki-hyun expressed on Facebook, "Once again, the misfortune of the Republic of Korea has begun," and said, "With a truly heavy heart, I offer my deepest apologies to the people and party members."

He emphasized, "I will devote all my efforts to reorganizing our deeply wounded party into a healthy conservative party and reviving it as a party loved by the people."

Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, also stated, "The hellgate of impeachment, which we so desperately wanted to avoid, has opened again. It is regrettable that some members of our party mistakenly believe they will be exempt from blame by supporting impeachment," adding, "I will start by reflecting on myself for the conservative camp’s failure to unite as a single front and its degeneration into a disorganized group. I am sorry."