South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faces a deepening leadership crisis, with a travel ban imposed after his failed attempt to invoke emergency powers and growing calls for his resignation, Al Jazeera reports.
The head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, Oh Dong-woon, confirmed Monday that a ban on foreign travel has been placed on Yoon. A Ministry of Justice official, Bae Sang-up, confirmed the order’s execution.
The crisis escalated after Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) staged a walkout of parliament before a Saturday impeachment vote, a move the opposition condemned as an “accomplice to insurrection.” Following the failed impeachment attempt, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon announced that Yoon would be excluded from foreign and domestic affairs, delegating governmental authority to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
This unprecedented move has plunged South Korea into a constitutional crisis. While the defense ministry maintains Yoon remains the legally appointed commander-in-chief, the opposition Democratic Party has accused the ruling party of staging a “second coup” by clinging to power. Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae denounced the arrangement, stating that allowing the president to remain in office while delegating powers to the prime minister and the unelected PPP leader is a “blatant constitutional violation with no legal basis.”
Yoon’s future appears increasingly uncertain. He has rejected calls for his resignation, even from within his own party. A National Police Agency investigation into alleged treason charges against him was launched on Thursday. While a sitting president enjoys immunity from prosecution for most crimes, this protection does not extend to treason or rebellion.
The president’s controversial December 3rd decree, granting the military sweeping emergency powers to combat what he termed “anti-state forces,” further fueled the crisis. He rescinded the order six hours later after parliament defied security cordons to unanimously reject the decree. While apologizing for the decree, Yoon insisted the emergency powers were necessary to counter what he described as relentless impeachment efforts against his administration and budgetary maneuvers that undermined government functions, including public safety.
