Yoon Sang-hyun: "We All Are Accomplices for Failing to Stop the Impeachment"

"When Selling a Sword to Buy a Cow"
"The Ruling Party Must Not Show Division to the People"
"Branding as Collaborators Contradicts Conservative Values"

Amid the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol in the National Assembly on the 14th, Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, emphasized party unity by using the term "accomplice of impeachment."

On the 16th, Yoon posted on his social media account, "賣劍買牛 (Maegeommaeu). Now is the time to sell the sword and buy the ox," and argued, "The party must engage in deeper reflection and gather wisdom to unite even more in the second round of impeachment trials and the investigation into the insurrection." He continued, "As the ruling party, we must encourage and cooperate with the government with an even heavier sense of responsibility to maintain the continuity of our government," adding, "We must not show the public a divided ruling party."

Yoon Sang-hyun, Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

He also stated, "At a time when all of us who failed to prevent the impeachment should engage in self-reflection as accomplices of impeachment, labeling and branding those who voted in favor of impeachment as accomplices with a scarlet letter contradicts the conservative values we have upheld," emphasizing, "Just as we cannot erase President Yoon, the pro-impeachment lawmakers are comrades we cannot erase from our hearts." He concluded by urging, "We must refrain from using terms like 'pro-impeachment accomplices' any further."

Meanwhile, Yoon had consistently expressed opposition to the impeachment vote against President Yoon prior to the decision. Through social media, he expressed, "I feel sorry to the people and party members for the situation reaching this point," explaining, "It is not about protecting President Yoon personally, but because we cannot hand over power to the Democratic Party led by the unscrupulous Lee Jae-myung." He also stated, "The president's emergency martial law declaration on December 3 was a flawed decision that confused the public," while arguing, "It is necessary to carefully examine whether the elements of insurrection under Articles 87 and 91 of the Criminal Act are met." Additionally, he criticized Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, saying, "At the very least, as members of the same party who once shared a meal, I believe the minimum trust would be to form an internal TF team to discuss the president's claims, conduct a parliamentary investigation and hearings to clarify the facts to some extent, and then proceed with the impeachment process."