SUPPORT FOR RULING PARTY UP
Opinion polls have shown most South Koreans support his impeachment, but Yoon’s legal plight and defiance over his arrest appear to have fired up some of his supporters.
The approval rating for Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) was 39 per cent in a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, up from 34 per cent a week ago and overtaking the main opposition Democratic Party for the first time since August which stood at 36 per cent.
Gallup Korea said Yoon and his party’s constant messaging toward supporters appeared to have had an impact when political divisions deepened around his arrest.
His supporters gathered outside the jail on Friday welcomed the uptick in PPP’s approval rating.
“People are now waking up to the fact that our country is at risk,” said Noh Eun-sook, 57, who was wearing a woolly hat and chanting for Yoon’s release.
Yoon was arrested after a weeks-long standoff when more than 3,000 police officers swooped on his residence. A previous attempt to arrest him on Jan 3 failed after Yoon’s personal security blocked investigators.
Kim Sung-hoon, acting chief of the Presidential Security Service, was arrested on Friday for thwarting investigators’ initial attempt, Yonhap said.
Speaking to reporters, Kim said he was carrying out his “legitimate security duties” and denied allegations by some opposition lawmakers that Yoon ordered guards to use weapons against investigators trying to arrest him.
While key ally Washington has criticised Yoon’s declaration of martial law, United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned last week there was a risk that nuclear-armed North Korea could try to exploit the political situation in South Korea.
North Korea has largely avoided public comment on the situation in Seoul, but Yoon’s arrest was reported in state media on Friday, two days after the event.
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper cited foreign media to say it was the first arrest of an incumbent president in South Korea.
“Yoon Suk Yeol is not following legal procedures at the expense of the national order for individual interests,” Rodong Sinmun said.
