President Yoon Suk-yeol met with the leadership of the People Power Party on the 3rd and reportedly urged them to unite as one party to better gather the people's support and play a significant role in leading the country.
President Yoon made these remarks during a meeting with People Power Party Emergency Response Committee Chairperson Kwon Young-se, Floor Leader Kwon Sung-dong, and Member of the National Assembly Na Kyung-won at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, according to Chairperson Kwon.
Chairperson Kwon noted after returning to the National Assembly that President Yoon urged the party to unite with different generations, such as the youth, and to collaborate with various people to gain significant public support.
He also said, "The party should not show signs of division and should act in an orderly manner," adding that he wishes there were no misunderstandings that President Yoon would take the lead.
He further responded to criticisms regarding the inappropriateness of the meeting with party leadership, stating, "Our party has a president, and he is only suspended from duty now," and added, "Some opposition members ask why one would visit a detention center, but since he was sent there, it is unavoidable to visit the detention center." He also mentioned, "It seemed that President Yoon is very concerned about the country even while being inside (the detention center)."
During the visit, President Yoon reportedly reiterated the claim that the declaration of emergency martial law on December 3 was an unavoidable measure to prevent the opposition from dominating legislation.
Chairperson Kwon stated, "From the impeachment to special investigations, it was simply impossible to do anything. Therefore, there were talks that thoughts of martial law were unavoidable."
Member Na, who was also present at the meeting, explained that President Yoon stated, "Essentially, as the National Assembly became a dictatorship of the Democratic Party, there were issues in executing any government policy. With a heavy sense of responsibility as president, I felt that I had to resolve these issues somehow, which led to this measure."
President Yoon reportedly also said, "It is fortunate that through this martial law, the public has become aware of the various disruptions that the Democratic Party, as the leading party, has been causing, effectively paralyzing the government."