South Korean President declares martial law, is rebuffed by parliament

South Korean President Yoon declared martial law, only to lift it hours later after quick action by opposition leaders and outraged South Korean citizens. Is the crisis over, or just beginning?

South Korea’s embattled president Yoon Suk Yeol, who won election in 2022, stunned the nation and South Korea’s international allies by declaring martial law around 11pm local time on Tuesday. Several tense hours later, Yoon announced he would lift martial law after a swift reaction from parliamentarians and South Korean citizens.

President Yoon, a conservative and hard-liner on North Korea, has been a lame duck since the liberal Democratic opposition party took control of parliament in April of this year. Since then, all Yoon has been able to do is veto measures approved by parliament. Yoon has come under fire for various corruption scandals, including some pertaining to his wife. Yoon has refused parliament’s demands for an investigation into him and his wife.

This week, the opposition party proposed a bill to slash the budget for Yoon’s government. The president cannot veto a budget bill. They also voted to impeach members of the cabinet and top prosecutors for failing to investigate the First Lady. The move to starve Yoon’s government and deprive him of his executive powers seems to be what prompted him to declare martial law.

The events of this evening

In Yoon’s unscheduled address, he said “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”. Martial law can be imposed in an emergency, such as in the event of an attack. The last time martial law was imposed in South Korea was in 1979, when the country’s long-term military dictator Park Chung-hee was assassinated in a coup. Without evidence, Yoon accused the opposition of being North Korean sympathizers who have “paralyzed state affairs”.

The military then issued a decree banning all political and parliamentary activities and authorizing warrantless arrests for “denying free democracy or attempting a subversion”. The military also assumed control of all media agencies and outlawed “fake news” and “manipulating public opinion”.

Shortly thereafter, police buses blocked the entrance gates to the National Assembly building and armed soldiers blocked the entrance and entered the building. In the hours that followed, there were reports of tanks on the streets of Seoul. People milled about frantically trying to get home to loved ones amid the uncertainty.

Reaction from Assembly and parties

Han Dong-hoon, the head of the ruling People Power Party to which Yoon also belongs, declared Yoon’s martial law declaration as “wrong” and vowed to block it. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic party, called on members of the public to gather outside the National Assembly building to demand the order be lifted. Despite the hour and the threat of arrest, hundreds of citizens answered the call. Lee also recalled his representatives to parliament for an emergency vote to lift the declaration.

It was no easy matter, even for members of parliament, to get into the building. The military had blocked the main entrance with orders not to let any lawmakers in. Some managed to force their way in despite the blockade. Helicopters were seen landing on top of the building, possibly carrying more lawmakers although we don’t know for certain. Democratic lawmakers Lee Seong-yoon and 60-year-old leader Lee Jae-myung himself had to scale a fence, while Hong Kiwon got a leg up from protesters

Parliament invalidates the martial law decree; Yoon relents

In all, 190 members of the 300-member body made it in. Shortly before 1 am, they voted unanimously to invalidate the martial law declaration. Most of the soldiers left the premises of the National Assembly building, lawmakers barricaded themselves in, fearing a raid. However, as of 3:30am Wednesday local time, martial law remained in effect with the country’s military leaders stating that martial law would remain in effect until President Yoon lifted it.

By law, the president must lift martial law once parliament decides to lift it. The question them seemed to be “who can force him to do so, and how?”. Fortunately, we did not have to find out. Following some tense hours, Yoon announced that he would lift the order shortly after 4:30am. The Cabinet subsequently agreed to end the decree.

As of this writing, it seems the crisis is resolved. Some members of parliament already vowed to bring an impeachment vote Yoon for this stunt, which was thwarted only by quick and determined action by South Korea’s parliamentarians and its citizens. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which represents over 1 million workers in South Korea, announced it would “commence an indefinite general strike until the Yoon Suk Yeol regime steps down”. The next presidential election is not until 2027.

International reaction

The White House as well as British, Chinese, and Russian officials all expressed grave concern at the developments. The White House said they had received no advance notice of the martial law declaration. President Biden, who is currently visiting the African nation of Angola, was briefed on developments. South Korea is one of the US’ most important military partners in the region and there are about 28,500 US troops deployed in the country. The Pentagon said it had received no request for assistance from their South Korean counterparts.

While President Yoon claimed his reason for declaring martial law was to protect the country from North Korea and its sympathizers, some observers worried that the chaos he stirred up could create a distraction that the North could take advantage of. Yoon has been seeking to strengthen his position ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who clashed with Yoon’s predecessor over the cost of keeping tens of thousands of US troops in the country.

During Trump’s first term, he also made overtures to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. A short-lived series of talks managed to diminish tensions and for a while. But Kim soon resumed his militant posture, launched more missiles over the Sea of Japan and has since forged an alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has yet to weigh in on tonight’s drama in South Korea.

Is the crisis over or just beginning?

South Koreans and their international partners (and adversaries) will be watching closely to see what happens next. South Korea is a young democracy surrounded by some very authoritarian neighbors. It was only in 1988 that a parliamentary democracy was established after decades of successive dictatorships. South Korea has had a notable backslide in various democratic indices since Yoon took office.

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has also been recently convicted of an election law violation and is still facing a perjury charge. Conviction could bar him for running for president again in 2027, after he narrowly lost to Yoon in 2022. Lee and his supporters have accused Yoon-aligned prosecutors of engaging in politically-motivated lawfare against him.

Still, the fact that this attempt to seize power was so quickly thwarted indicates that democracy in South Korea is more resilient than many, perhaps even Yoon himself, gave it credit for. According to Katharine Moon, a political science professor at Wellesley College, “South Koreans in general do not put up with this nonsense,” probably due to the very recent memory of dictatorships past.

South Korean President declares martial law, is rebuffed by parliament – National & International News – TUE 3Dec2024