As he battles an opposition that controls the nation’s parliament and whom he accuses of having ties to communist North Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law late Tuesday with the promise of eradicating anti-state forces.
Woo Won Shik, the speaker of the National Assembly, declared that parliamentarians would defend democracy alongside the people when parliament agreed to revoke the statement a few hours later. Woo demanded that military and police forces leave the Assembly’s property.
The opposition and the head of Yoon’s own conservative party swiftly condemned the president’s unexpected action, which harked back to an authoritarian era the nation has not experienced since the 1980s.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, the military declared that parliament and any political events that can lead to popular unrest will be suspended after Yoon’s announcement.
According to Yonhap, the military also ordered the nation’s striking physicians to report back to work within 48 hours. Due to government intentions to increase the number of students attending medical schools, thousands of doctors have been on strike for months. According to the military, anyone who disobeys the order could be taken into custody without a warrant.
According to South Korean legislation, martial law can be lifted if the opposition Democratic Party receives a majority of votes in the parliament.
Shortly after the announcement, the speaker of the National Assembly urged all MPs to assemble at the Assembly building via his YouTube account. He asked law enforcement and military troops to maintain their composure and hold their ground.
The lifting of martial law was endorsed by all 190 lawmakers who took part in the voting. After the vote, soldiers stationed at parliament were seen on television departing the area.
On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea, police officers stand watch in front of the National Assembly as people attempt to enter.Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP
TV earlier showed helmeted soldiers with guns in front of the Assembly and police officers barricading the entrance.
Two or three helicopters circled over the Assembly site, and at least three helicopters, perhaps from the military, landed inside the grounds, according to an Associated Press photographer.
Han Dong-hoon, the head of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, criticized the decision to institute martial law and promised to work with the populace to end it. Yoon’s announcement was deemed unlawful and unconstitutional by opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by a slim margin.
In a televised speech, Yoon said that martial law would aid in reconstruction and keep the nation from plunging into a state of complete collapse. He pledged to uphold the constitutional democratic order and destroy pro-North Korean groups.
He urged the populace to have faith in him and put up with a few annoyances as he promised to eradicate anti-state groups as soon as possible and normalize the nation.
Since assuming office in 2022, Yoon, whose popularity has declined recently, has found it difficult to advance his policies in a parliament controlled by the opposition.
Regarding the budget measure for next year, Yoon’s party and the liberal opposition have been at a standstill. In what the conservatives have described as a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been viewed by pollsters as the front-runner for the 2027 presidential election, the opposition has also tried to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
Political opposition have swiftly and sharply criticized Yoon for rejecting calls for independent inquiries into issues involving his wife and high-ranking officials.
Yoon’s action was the first martial law proclamation since the nation’s 1987 democratization. The last time martial law was imposed in the nation was in October 1979.
Through The Associated Press’s Kim Tong-Hyung
This report was contributed to by Hyung-jin Kim.
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