SEOUL—South Korea’s top opposition party will continue submitting a weekly motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol over his declaration of martial law until it is approved, its leader said.

“Lawmakers of the ruling party will eventually comply with the order of the people, not the order of the party,” Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea told The Asahi Shimbun in an exclusive interview on Dec. 8.

Yoon survived the first impeachment vote at the National Assembly on Dec. 7 after most members of his governing People Power Party walked out.

The president lifted martial law on Dec. 4 in response to a parliamentary resolution, only six hours after he imposed it for the first time since the country’s military rule ended in 1987.

In a statement released on Dec. 8, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, said the president will not conduct state affairs, including diplomacy, even before he resigns.

The prime minister will address state affairs with the governing party, the statement said.

Lee criticized the move as a “second internal insurgency” following the short-lived martial law declaration.

He said the prime minister and the governing party are trying to assume the mandate that the people delivered to the president as if it is a private matter.

Lee said effectively superseding the president is an “act that disrupts the constitutional order,” saying it is not expected at all under the Constitution or other laws.

While the People Power Party leader mentioned Yoon’s “orderly and early resignation,” Lee brushed aside such a notion.

“The word ‘early’ means ‘not now.’ After all, it is simply an attempt to cover (the intention) to maintain the current system,” he said.

Lee also dismissed the prime minister’s call for cooperation from the opposition on the conduct of state affairs.

“Why are we supposed to help when those not elected by the people have held the reins of power? The concept itself is preposterous,” he said.

Lee said Yoon should immediately resign voluntarily or be forced to step down by an impeachment vote.

A vote will be taken every Saturday until it is approved, he said.

Lee said his Democratic Party of Korea will try to persuade individual ruling party lawmakers to secure majority support.

He also encouraged voters to demand their representatives support the impeachment motion.

Many young people gathered at a rally outside the National Assembly on Dec. 7 to call for lawmakers to approve the impeachment bill.

Lee said rallies have been transformed into an occasion where people come out in support and enjoy the show of democracy in action. 

“You cannot stem the tide,” he said.

Since summer, the Democratic Party of Korea had pointed to the possibility of Yoon placing the country under martial law.

“There was not solid evidence, but there were signs,” Lee said.

Under the Constitution, martial law can be declared in the event of wars, extraordinary incidents or other similar situations of national emergency.

Lee said he believes that Yoon was trying to create such a situation by provoking North Korea with military propaganda broadcasts and other means.

When Yoon instituted martial order on Dec. 3, Lee said he first thought it was a “deepfake.”

But because he was aware of the possibility, he immediately called on party lawmakers to come to the National Assembly for a vote to demand its cancellation.

In announcing martial law, Yoon criticized the opposition for paralyzing the administration with an impeachment drive targeting government bureaucrats and for stalling a budget proposal for “political strife.”

Lee said his party was not opposed to normal operations of the state and criticized Yoon.

“(Yoon) tried to become an absolute monarch. He cannot stand what the opposition does,” he said.

The political confrontation in South Korea has been partly blamed on the opposition for a lack of efforts to engage in dialogue.

Lee acknowledged that politicians are expected to respect each other, recognize each other, hold dialogue and make concessions to reach a compromise.

But he said the governing party has refused to hold dialogue and make concessions.

(This article was written by Narumi Ota and Akihiko Kaise.)