Impeached Prime Minster Han Duck-soo on Wednesday said that "every citizen should obey the law and the Constitution," commenting on President Yoon Suk Yeol's statement released earlier that day.
The suspended premier made the comment at the parliamentary special committee on Yoon's insurrection allegations, also stating that he thought the president's Dec. 3 martial law declaration was wrong.
Han added, "The president himself has vowed to take legal and political responsibility for his actions," referring to Yoon's public address that took place soon after his controversial declaration of martial law.
Yoon on Wednesday became the first sitting president in Korean history to be arrested, facing criminal charges of insurrection and abuse of power. He was suspended from his duties after the National Assembly last month passed a resolution for his impeachment, and is undergoing an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court.
Han also told the parliamentary committee that Yoon's declaration of martial law was made without deliberation by members of his Cabinet. Han said Yoon notified him of the plans at around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 -- less than two hours before Yoon made the announcement to the public -- and suggested that the president convene his ministers.
"I believed that all members of the Cabinet would no doubt oppose the martial law issue. ... I suggested (to Yoon) that he should listen to what the Cabinet has to say, since (a martial law declaration) entails great issues such as concerning the economy and (South Korea's) credibility," he said.
Han apologized for failing to avert martial law, saying it was "not normal concerning various defects in its process and in its essence."
After the National Assembly passed the motion to impeach Yoon, Han took over as the administration’s second-in-command. But his time as interim leader of the country lasted less than two weeks.
The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a motion for Han's impeachment on Dec. 27, after Han rejected the opposition's demands to appoint three justices to the Constitutional Court and to pass bills that would assign special counsel investigations into Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee.
