Opposition leader Lee Jae Myung says he initially thought the President's declaration of martial law video was an AI Deepfake

As President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law has ended in failure, the National Assembly is set to vote on his impeachment motion during its plenary session on the 7th.

Meanwhile, Lee Jae Myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, shared his thoughts on the martial law crisis and the impeachment proceedings during an interview with foreign media outlets.

In an interview on December 5, Lee Jae Myung described the situation surrounding the impeachment vote as "fluid," referring to the unpredictable dynamics involved. Lee Jae Myung's comments are seen as an acknowledgment of the difficulty in securing the necessary support from ruling party lawmakers for the impeachment motion. To pass the motion, two-thirds of the National Assembly’s 300 members—200 votes—are required. With the opposition holding 192 seats, at least eight votes from ruling party members would be needed to reach the threshold.

On December 4, a day after Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, six opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, submitted the impeachment motion to the National Assembly. The following day, the ruling People Power Party officially adopted a party line opposing the impeachment.

Addressing the situation, Lee Jae Myung explained, "Many ruling party lawmakers may be willing to support impeachment, but doing so would require them to go against their party's stance, which puts them in a difficult position."

Despite these challenges, Lee Jae Myung expressed confidence in Yoon Suk Yeol's eventual impeachment, stating, "The only question is whether he will be ousted tomorrow, in a week, or in a month or three."

Lee Jae Myung also recounted the events of the day martial law was declared, describing how armed martial law troops had blocked the National Assembly. He shared that he had to scale a one-meter-high fence to enter the Assembly building.

In a separate interview with CNN, Lee Jae Myung revealed his disbelief upon first hearing of the martial law declaration, saying he initially thought it was a "deepfake" video. He shared, "That night, after I got off work, I was lying in bed with my wife in our home … when my wife suddenly showed me a YouTube video and said, 'The president is declaring martial law...' I replied, 'That’s a deepfake. It has to be a deepfake. There’s no way that’s real.' But when I watched the video, the president was indeed declaring martial law – yet I thought to myself, ‘This is fabricated, it’s fake.’"

Meanwhile, despite the People Power Party's official stance opposing impeachment, concerns are growing within the party about potential defections during the vote, as the process will be conducted anonymously.