South Korea’s Yoon vows to fight ‘until the very last minute’

This handout photo taken on December 12, 2024 and released by the South Korean Presidential Office via Yonhap shows South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering an address at the Presidential Office in Seoul. Agence France-Presse

SEOUL — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday vowed to fight “until the very last minute”, defending his shock decision last week to declare martial law and deploy troops to the country’s parliament.

“I will fight with the people until the very last minute,” Yoon said in a televised address.

“I apologize again to the people who must have been surprised and anxious due to the martial law,” he said. “Please trust me in my warm loyalty to the people.”

READ: What next for South Korea’s Yoon after failed martial law attempt?

The South Korean leader is banned from foreign travel as part of an “insurrection” probe into his inner circle over the dramatic events of December 3-4 that stunned South Korea’s allies.

A probe into last week’s events has swiftly gathered pace, with police Wednesday attempting to raid Yoon’s office to investigate his brief imposition of martial law.

They were blocked from entering by security guards, with the main opposition Democratic Party warning it would file legal complaints for insurrection against the presidential staff and security if they continued to obstruct law enforcement.

READ: South Korea police raid President Yoon Sook Yeol’s office

But the South Korean leader on Thursday said he would “not avoid legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law”.

Yoon accused the opposition of pushing the country into a “national crisis”.

“The National Assembly, dominated by the large opposition party, has become a monster that destroys the constitutional order of liberal democracy,” Yoon said in a televised address.