People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok acknowledged that last year's Dec. 3 martial law declaration had brought confusion and pain to the public but placed blame for the event on the Democratic Party's “parliamentary violence and obstruction."

Speaking at a rally in the center of the southeastern city of Daegu, Jang said loyal military officers are now on trial, and some civil servants fear surveillance, due to what he called the ruling camp’s reckless purge campaign, adding that he feels a deep sense of responsibility.

He said that the events of Dec. 3 had exposed what he described as the ruling party’s lawlessness and alerted many young people to the country’s political crisis, but admitted that his own party had failed to fight back effectively.

Jang criticized the PPP for not standing united, saying that internal division had enabled the declaration of martial law, the subsequent impeachment and the rise of the Lee Jae Myung administration.

He urged supporters to unite against the arrest of former floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, to resist politically motivated investigations and to fight together for liberal democracy, including securing a sweeping victory in next year’s local elections.