The entrance to the South Korean parliament is blocked, military equipment has been spotted on the streets of Seoul.
Commander-in-Chief Pak An-soo was appointed as martial law commander. He announced a ban on all political activity in the country, including protests, and announced censorship in the media.
Violators of martial law will also be arrested without a warrant, says Army Chief of Staff Park Ahn-soo.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yol declared martial law in the country on the evening of December 3. He called the move an inevitable event and critical to protecting the country’s constitutional order.
The country’s president said in an address that he was forced to resort to such a step because opposition parties “took the parliamentary process hostage.” Yoon Seok Yeol vowed to “eradicate the vile pro-North Korean anti-state forces.” He did not say what measures would be taken.
The South Korean leader also criticized the Democrats’ impeachment proposal, saying it would paralyze judicial work.
The US presidential administration is in contact with the South Korean government and is “closely monitoring the situation,” the White House said.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-meng called the president’s decision unconstitutional, and the head of the ruling party, Han Dong-hun, described it as “wrong.” Yoon’s predecessor Moon Jae-in said the country’s democracy was in crisis.
“I hope the National Assembly will act quickly to protect our democracy from collapse,” he wrote in a post on X.
I ask people to join forces to protect and preserve democracy and help the National Assembly function properly.
This is a huge failure. This is a huge break and pause. This is the collapse of democracy,” said Lee Joon Han, a political science professor at Incheon National University.
South Korea’s democracy is seen as one of the most successful cases of the third wave of democratization. But Democratic politics is suddenly close to breaking down, Lee said.
Background
The announcement of martial law in South Korea was the culmination of a long standoff between President Yoon Suk-yol and the opposition Democratic Party, which controls parliament. The conflict has been brewing throughout Yun’s presidency, which came to power in 2022 with a slim margin of 0.7% of the vote.
After the last parliamentary elections, in which the opposition won a landslide victory, Yun found himself in a difficult situation. He was unable to carry out his policies and was forced to constantly veto opposition bills. The situation came to a head this week when the opposition made significant cuts to the government’s budget proposals – a decision that cannot be vetoed.
Additional tension was added by scandals surrounding the country’s first lady, accused of corruption and abuse of influence. The opposition tried to initiate a special investigation into these charges. In response, opposition forces launched impeachment proceedings against some cabinet ministers, including the head of the government audit agency, accusing them of refusing to investigate the president’s wife.
In his televised address, President Yoon said martial law was necessary to “defend the country from North Korean communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements.” According to him, this decision is aimed at protecting the liberal constitutional order. The military suspended all parliamentary activities and members of the National Assembly were denied access to the building. In Seoul’s Yongdingpo district, there is a heavy police presence outside the assembly building.
Both the ruling People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party have already announced their intention to block the right to martial law.
In November, South Korea’s top opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was acquitted of charges that he coerced a witness into giving false testimony. He was accused of directing a witness to give false testimony in a 2019 trial alleging violations of election laws.
Lee, the Democratic Party leader, still faces several other lawsuits, including bribery and other charges stemming largely from a $1 billion real estate development scandal.
On November 15, the court found Lee guilty of violating election laws, giving him a one-year prison sentence suspended for two years, a sentence that, if upheld, could jeopardize his bid to run for president in 2027. Lee said he will appeal the decision.
He was also accused of using more than 100 million won ($71,900) of government funds for personal gain while he was governor.
He narrowly lost to President Yoon Suk-yol in the 2022 election and is expected to run again, said there was no basis for the charges and called other charges against him “political vendetta.”
Any final prison sentence or fine of 1 million won ($714.13) or more in the election law violation case would deprive him of his seat in parliament and the right to stand in any elections for the next five years.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.