Rep. Kwon Young-se, the interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, said Monday that suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol resigning while his impeachment trial is ongoing would not be appropriate.
Yoon resigning "cannot be realistically considered," Kwon said, upon being asked during a conference if he thought the president might step down before the Constitutional Court rules on his impeachment.
"Regardless of whether the president resigning before the verdict is due is legally or constitutionally possible, I do not think that resignation would solve all these problems," he said.
Kwon's response was to a question about whether it would be a good idea for Yoon to make such a decision to avoid clashes between those for and against his impeachment following the court's verdict, at a discussion hosted by the Kwanhun Club at the Korea Press Center, Monday morning.
On Yoon's defense team saying last week that the president may make a "major decision," Kwon said that was not up to the lawyers to decide. "I don't think that is being realistically considered, and even if it was possible, it's not the right way to go about it," the People Power Party interim leader said.
Kwon said Yoon's decision to impose martial law on Dec. 3 last year was "clearly wrong."
"I don't think martial law is the right approach to respond to the opposition's ways, even considering their outrageous behavior," he said, referring to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's attempts to impeach a number of the Yoon administration's officials and block his policies.
People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, in an address to the National Assembly last week, also apologized for Yoon's declaration of martial law.
The Constitutional Court is expected to give its final verdict on Yoon's impeachment sometime in March.
arin@heraldcorp.com
![[Exclusive] Ateez to return in November](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/02/news-p.v1.20260902.76162fb0ba55493aad1c076f240d0750_R.jpg?type=h&h=120)