From tumultuous start President Yoon's term now faces early termination

[Anchor]

On the 10th of last month, President Yoon, who had reached the halfway point of his five-year term, faced a crossroads with the vote on impeachment.

Starting his term with a minority government, he found himself in a crisis of impeachment after a disastrous defeat in the general elections last April.
Reporter Jeong Jae-woo has summarized the situation.

[Report]

In March, the so-called 'early end to prosecutor dictatorship' was the banner under which the The Rebuilding Korea Party was founded.

[Cho Kuk/The Rebuilding Korea Party Representative/March 3: "I have no idea what will happen in the remaining three years of his term. Three years is too long!"]

During the election period, the Democratic Party stressed the need for a judgment on the regime rather than impeachment.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Representative/March 11: "If you don't fear the people, strike with a rod, and if that doesn't work, beat with a club...."]

The People Power Party countered with the so-called 'Lee-Cho Judgment Theory' and 'North Korean sympathizer attacks'.

[Han Dong-hoon/People Power Party Emergency Response Committee Chairman/March 19: "If we continue like this, people like Lee Jae-myung and Cho Kuk, as well as the North Korean sympathizing factions, will take control of our Republic of Korea."]

The result was a landslide victory for the opposition.

In the now starkly divided National Assembly, extreme confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties continued, and the Democratic Party's voices condemning the government grew louder during the outdoor rallies held every Saturday over the past five weeks.

[Kim Min-seok/Democratic Party Senior Supreme Council Member/Nov. 30: "Let's settle this within six months! Let's change the country next year!"]

Then, late at night on the 3rd, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a state of emergency martial law.

[President Yoon Suk Yeol: "The National Assembly has become a den of criminals, paralyzing the nation's judicial and administrative systems through legislative dictatorship, and attempting to overthrow the liberal democratic system."]

The opposition's anger boiled over claiming what is constitutionally treason, citing the emergency martial troops storming into the National Assembly and the unconstitutional and illegal declaration of martial law. Even within the ruling party, there were proposals for constitutional amendments to shorten the president's term.

While suggesting 'impeachment' but unable to utter the words, Representative Lee Jae-myung today (Dec. 6) issued a special statement calling for the investigation, arrest, and detention of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Representative: "He is the mastermind of a clear crime of treason against the state, abused for his personal interests and to strengthen and maintain power."]

This is KBS News, Jeong Jae-woo.