South Korea's president vows not to give up after impeachment announcement

South Korean President Yun Seok-yol said Saturday, Dec. 14, during an address to the nation that he has no intention of giving up after the impeachment was announced.

"I will never give up. I will do my best for the country until the last minute, not forgetting reprimands, encouragements and support," he said.

The Korean leader also said he was disappointed that all his efforts might be in vain. He called on government officials to unite with Prime Minister Han Dok-soo, who by law becomes acting president after the parliament declares impeachment, and ensure the safety of the Korean people.

Han Dok-soo, for his part, said he "keenly feels heavy responsibility" for the situation.

"I would like to express my sincere apologies to the citizens. What is most important now is that there is no gap left in national affairs. The internal and external conditions in which the Republic of Korea is now facing are very difficult. <...> We are facing a serious challenge that we must solve together to help our country overcome this crisis. I count on each of you to do your part in addressing this grave situation. We ask you to contribute to the smooth functioning of the government," he said.

On the same day, South Korea's parliament backed the impeachment of Yun Seok-yeol. The further procedure involves a vote in the country's constitutional court: six of the nine judges must cast their vote in favor of removing the president from office. After the impeachment is confirmed, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days.

The tragedy of the situation: what caused the political crisis in South Korea to erupt abruptly

How the situation in the country will develop further and what the DPRK has to do with it

The situation in South Korea escalated in early December. Yun Seok-yol declared martial law in the country. The reason for such a step he called the threat of paralysis of power, arising from attempts to conduct impeachment proceedings. The commander of the emergency regime - Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Park Ahn Soo - noted that until martial law is lifted in the republic, the activities of the parliament, political parties and associations are prohibited. Military equipment was brought to the streets of Seoul.

The opposition party of the republic, in turn, demanded the resignation of the head of state and said it intended to accuse Yun Seok-yeol of treason. At the same time, all heads and senior secretaries of the presidential administration of South Korea resigned. In addition, the labor unions of the republic announced a general strike.

Then, on December 11, the South Korean police searched the presidential administration and police departments. The searches were conducted by a special investigation team to investigate martial law-related activities. The next day, Yoon Seok-yeol said he had no intention of leaving office and would resist attempts to impeach him.

The next day, the first deputy chairman of the Defense Committee, Aleksey Zhuravlev, shared with Izvestiya an opinion that the probable cause of the political crisis in South Korea could beUS discontent with President Yun Seok-yol because of his possible refusal to sell weapons to Ukraine.