Ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon says President Yoon Suk Yeol needs to be swiftly suspended from his duties to protect the South Korean people. 

Han made the remarks Friday morning during an emergency meeting of his party’s Supreme Council, a day ahead of a planned vote at the National Assembly on a motion to impeach the president.

He said Yoon sought to arrest key politicians for anti-state activities when he declared martial law Tuesday night, with plans to detain them at a facility in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Han said Yoon ordered Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung, Yoon’s high school alumnus, to arrest key politicians on accusations of being anti-state actors, and that the president also mobilized intelligence authorities for the arrests.

The ruling party chair said he secured reliable grounds to confirm those things on Thursday night. 

He added that Yeo clearly had plans to put the politicians in a detention facility in Gwacheon.

Han said if Yoon remains in office, there is a significant risk that he will once again take extreme actions that could endanger the country and the people.

This is a turnaround from Han’s previous stance, when he said he intended to block Yoon’s impeachment.

The ruling party is scheduled to hold a plenary meeting for all its lawmakers at 11 a.m. Friday.