MPs pass resolution in defiance of the Martial Law

For the first time since 1980, South Korea is under martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol. The move came as Yoon, in his late-night appearance on the media, claimed ‘finishing off’ the ‘shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces.’

Sending shockwaves through the country, the legislators meanwhile huddled in the National Assembly building on Tuesday night, while protestors outside saw the Army entering the official premises. An emergency session was held to stop the declaration from taking effect.

The protestors were demanding revoking the order and chaos reigned in Seoul on the sudden announcement, with the MPs trying their level best to stall the declaration.

It is, however, unclear what shape the martial law might take in the coming days, as it reminded the South Koreans once again of the days preceding 1980 when the country was under the rule of autocratic leaders, one after another.

The country was now considered democratic until Tuesday night, when the announcement came. On the economics part, South Korean ‘won’ has gone down against the dollar and a central bank official said measures are on to get a hold on a possibly destabilizing market.  

Veterans in south korea label this as regressive

Many veterans, including one from his own conservative party, have labelled the move as theocratic and repressive in nature. People have been demanding the president’s impeachment for many weeks, while his approval rating fell to a mere 19%. 

Despite the martial law declaration, country media went on with their reporting till Wednesday morning. Under the law, arresting without a valid warrant and control of the media by the martial law authorities is the norm.

Propagation of fake news and every political activity has been banned. According to South Korean law, the president has to bring in confidence, the parliament vote, to block the martial law without, however, being exact about the time span involved.  

Unable to pinpoint what exactly the threat perception from North Korea is, he has begun to bring the opposition in the loop. In fact, he is known for labelling his opponents as ‘anti-state forces’ and media reports as ‘fake news.’ Also, from May 22 onwards, his regime has been using defamation lawsuits against the press extensively

His administration, which took over in May 2022, has massively stepped up the use of defamation lawsuits against the press. In his Tuesday late-night address, he accused the National Assembly majority of impeding his minority government budgetary plans by bringing in the impeachment moves against his cabinet members. 

As per the Korean media sources, the Defense Ministry stated that martial law will continue till the President orders anything else. Claiming opposition parties of hijacking the parliamentary procedures while bringing the state of the nation to a critical level, Yoon said he was forced to take such an extreme step to bring order in the institution.

Yoon stated that “I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order.” Exactly what the measures would involve wasn’t clear in the announcement.

Yoon’s own conservative people power party leader Han Dong-hoon was dismayed at the turn of the events, while sources in the South Korea and US government were stunned by the sudden announcement. Hoon said the development was ‘wrong’ and said people’s power will be utilized to stop such a move. 

Ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, once President Yoon Suk Yeol’s staunchest ally, has called for the swift suspension of Yoon’s duties amid ongoing impeachment proceedings.https://t.co/jZWAdCzJk2

— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) December 6, 2024

Since the US has its bases present in the country, the former is gravely concerned about the turn of the events. While US military command spokespersons didn’t respond to repeated phone calls, Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state, informed me that an ‘ironclad’ alliance with the South Asian nation was in place. He further added that around 28,500 US troops were present in South Korea at a number of military bases to guard against any possible attack from the North.

Announcement draws criticism from various segments

The opposition has been quick to react. The majority party leader, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, stated, “Tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country. The economy of the Republic of Korea will collapse irreversibly. My fellow citizens, please come to the National Assembly” on an online media channel.

Apart from that, former president Moon Jae-in on Tuesday requested the National Assembly to ‘quickly step in and protect the democracy that is collapsing.’ According to him, the country was in a critical state.

In times of a national emergency and war or any other armed conflict, as per the South Korean constitution, martial law can be declared by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, who happens to be the president.

The South Korean president stated that ministers hindered smooth passage of the government budget. The South Korean ministers, he alleged, disapproved of the lessening of a certain amount from the 4tn ‘won’ worth 2.2 billion pounds budget and thus trivializing the functioning of the government.

Mirroring the sentiment of the commoners, a taxi driver from Seoul demanding anonymity said that the declaration was beyond his imagination. He added that it brought back his memories of earlier eras when dictators like Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan employed the same methods for trying to arouse false sentiments from the people whenever they faced any crisis, which included war mongering and martial law.

An NGO, The Centre for Military Human Rights, alleged that the move was nothing short of a coup and was thus akin to a declaration of war against the Korean people. The group demanded the Army refrain from using any kind of force against the citizens and termed the move as ‘illegal.’