Yoon vows to focus on revising Constitution if reinstated

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday he will focus on revising the Constitution if reinstated, suggesting he could step down before the end of his single, five-year term.

Yoon made the remark in his final statement before the Constitutional Court, which is expected to deliver a ruling by mid-March on whether to uphold or dismiss his impeachment over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

“I will gather the will of the people and swiftly push for a constitutional amendment, doing my best to produce a Constitution and political structure that fit the changes in our society,” he said during the final hearing of his impeachment trial at the court.

“If a constitutional amendment and political reform are pursued correctly, I believe the separated and divided people will unite in the process,” he said.

“If that happens, there will be no reason to cling to the remainder of my term as guaranteed under the Constitution, and if anything, it will be a great honor,” he added.

South Korea’s Constitution limits presidents to a single, five-year term, but Yoon’s remark suggests he could accept calls to change the limit to two four-year terms and apply the rule to himself.

Yoon also said he plans to focus on foreign relations based on his experience of strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and establishing trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, while shifting authority over domestic issues to the prime minister.

In his 67-minute statement, Yoon repeatedly denied the charges of insurrection leveled at him over his surprise declaration of martial law Dec. 3, citing what he described as a small number of troops that entered the National Assembly compound that night and the short amount of time — two hours — they were deployed there.

He also dismissed as “absurd” claims that he ordered the arrest of politicians or the removal of lawmakers from the National Assembly building.

Still, he offered an apology to the nation for the “confusion and inconvenience” caused by his martial law bid.

“I want to first say that I am sorry and thankful to the people,” he said. “While feeling thankful, the reality of not being able to do my work in the time given to me by the people made me sorry and caused my heart to ache.”

The National Assembly’s impeachment motion against Yoon accuses the president of violating the Constitution and laws by declaring martial law in the absence of a national emergency and ignoring due procedures, such as holding a Cabinet meeting and notifying parliament.

Yoon has argued his declaration of martial law was an act of governance meant to send a warning to the opposition party over its repeated impeachments of government officials and attempts to cut the government budget.

Legal experts anticipate the court will deliver its verdict on whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him within two weeks after Tuesday’s hearing, citing the precedents of former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye.

If he is ousted, the country will be required to hold a snap presidential within 60 days. If reinstated, he will serve out the remainder of his term through May 2027.

The court did not schedule a date for the verdict Tuesday.

Earlier during the proceeding, the legal teams of both Yoon and the National Assembly, which is the prosecution in the case, delivered their final arguments.

Yoon’s team called for the dismissal of his impeachment, saying the opposition party’s unilateral actions necessitated his short-lived imposition of martial law.

“The emergency martial law ended after two hours, and not a single citizen was injured in the process of declaring and lifting the decree,” Chah Kee-whahn, one of the lawyers, said.

Lee Dong-chan, another lawyer, said the opposition party’s policy obstructions, railroading of legislation and unilateral cuts of the government budget were to blame for the president’s action.

“It cannot be denied that the state created by the opposition party is a state of national emergency,” he said.

The National Assembly’s legal team demanded the court uphold the impeachment and remove Yoon from office.

“It became clear through evidence examination during the impeachment trial and the related investigation that (Yoon) violated the Constitution and laws through a series of insurrection actions,” Song Doo-hwan, one of the National Assembly’s lawyers, said.

“It is hard to imagine a graver reason than the reasons of unconstitutionality and illegality in this case in the past or in the future,” he said.

Rep. Jung Chung-rai of the main opposition Democratic Party, the head of the Assembly’s impeachment panel, also delivered his final statement before Yoon.

“President Yoon destroyed the Constitution and tried to violate the National Assembly,” he said. “For democracy and the development of the nation, he must be removed from office.”