Should the PPP Expel Former President Yoon Suk Yeol?

Seoul, May 14 (NationPress) South Korean Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung urged the People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday to promptly remove former President Yoon Suk Yeol from its ranks, labeling him a "military coup leader."

Lee's demand followed a statement from the PPP's candidate Kim Moon-soo, who indicated he would not consider expelling Yoon, who was removed from office due to his brief martial law declaration in December and is now facing criminal accusations of inciting an insurrection.

"The People Power Party must immediately expel military coup leader Yoon Suk Yeol now," Lee declared at a campaign rally in Busan, situated approximately 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

"If the People Power Party values the fundamental liberal democratic framework outlined in the Constitution, it must apologize profusely for the military coup," he insisted.

"Is the People Power Party genuinely a conservative party as it claims? Is it a democratic entity?" Lee challenged. "That party now faces a choice: adapt or face exclusion."

In addition, Lee informed reporters that he anticipated a tight election outcome, despite optimistic predictions for the DP candidate, who is currently leading in the polls by a significant margin, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

"Our aim is a definitive victory, not just a dominant one," he stated.

Yoon, who ascended from a top prosecutor to the presidency within just three years, became the second president in the nation's history to be formally removed from office. His unexpected martial law attempt unsettled the nation for months and intensified political divisions.

Before reaching the presidency, Yoon initiated his career as a prosecutor in 1994, progressing through the ranks to head an investigative team into Park's corruption scandal, which led to her removal and eventual imprisonment.

In 2019, he was appointed as the nation's chief prosecutor under then-President Moon Jae-in, but he clashed with the administration while overseeing investigations into family members of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

Under increasing pressure from the Moon administration, Yoon resigned from his position in 2021, shortly thereafter entering politics and winning the presidential election in 2022 as the conservative People Power Party's nominee.

Yoon's presidency was fraught with conflict due to an uncooperative National Assembly dominated by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), with Yoon exercising his presidential veto against 25 bills passed by the Assembly.

Tensions with the DP escalated dramatically in early December when the main opposition proposed motions to impeach the country's top auditor and a senior prosecutor. Yoon declared martial law on December 3, which ultimately led to his downfall.