Former South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol declared his withdrawal from the People Power Party, calling on the public to support the partyʼs candidate in the presidential election Kim Moon Soo.

Yeol reported this on Facebook.

“Today I am leaving the Peopleʼs Power party. […] Although I am leaving the party, I will continue to stand at the forefront in defending freedom and national sovereignty,” he emphasized.

He also called on voters to unite around Kim Moon Soo, emphasizing the importance of participating in the upcoming elections.

As Yonhap notes, there are growing calls within the conservative People Power party for a permanent break with the former president. Many party members believe his departure is necessary to improve Sooʼs ratings, who are lagging behind Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae Myung in the polls.

What preceded

On the night of December 3-4, 2024, then-South Korean President Yoon Seok-Yeol declared martial law in the country to “protect the constitutional order” — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party of South Korea, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the government’s budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the attorney general.

In total, martial law lasted about six hours, but caused an acute internal crisis. In December 2024, Yoon Seok Yeol was informed of suspicion of treason and abuse of power and was banned from traveling abroad. An attempt was made to detain the ex-president on January 3, 2025, but his bodyguards prevented this. On January 15, he was finally detained on a second attempt. On March 8, it became known that Yoon Seok Yeol had been released from prison. But he still had to stand trial.

In early April, the Constitutional Court announced a unanimous verdict supporting the impeachment of Yoon Seok Yeol and removing him from the presidency. The duties of the president are currently performed by the countryʼs Prime Minister Han Dak Soo. New presidential elections have been scheduled for June 3.

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