"I've Only Seen Election Fraud Conspiracy Theories in Overseas Headlines"
Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol's final statement, saying it felt like a "textbook example of far-right forces."
On the 26th, Yoon appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "I thought there would be reflection and introspection, but there was none at all." He also called President Yoon "a truly bad president," pointing out that "there was no reflection until the very end, and he is irresponsible." He added, "One of the biggest mistakes President Yoon made was undermining the foundation and basics of the Republic of Korea," and said, "He broke taboos about things like the rule of law and communalism, which we usually thought would never collapse."
Regarding the president's statement in the final opinion during the impeachment trial that "there is evidence of election interference under North Korea's instructions," Yoon said, "In a democratic country, elections are the root, so where else in the world is there a president who undermines and denies that?" He added, "I think he is unqualified to be president, and the president claiming a fraudulent election conspiracy theory is something you only see in overseas headlines."
About the president mentioning "spy" 25 times, he questioned, "Is this really the president's final statement?" and pointed out, "He only apologized to the people once in the lengthy final statement of over 70 pages." He added, "He still seems to feel wronged," saying, "The lines between the words clearly show 'I was unfairly treated.'"
President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering his final statement at the 11th hearing of his impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 25th. Photo by the Constitutional Court
Meanwhile, President Yoon, during the 11th hearing held at the Constitutional Court the day before, stated in his final statement, "The December 3 martial law is completely different from past martial laws," and explained, "It is not martial law that suppresses the people by force, but a public appeal borrowing the form of martial law."
He continued, "It was declared in an urgent spirit to prevent paralysis of state affairs and the collapse of the liberal democratic constitutional order, and to normalize state functions," and explained, "It is a desperate appeal for the sovereign people to directly participate in overcoming the emergency." President Yoon read the opinion for about 67 minutes, and he is the first sitting president in constitutional history to make a direct final statement in an impeachment trial.
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