South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has lifted a short-lived martial law order that he enacted late Tuesday night after accusing his opposition of “anti-state” activities and of being infiltrated by North Korea.
“The martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” Yoon said in an address on Tuesday night around 11 pm South Korea time.
By 4:30 am on Wednesday, martial law was lifted after the country’s 300-seat parliament, the National Assembly, convened and voted 190-0 for it to end.
The opposition Democratic Party holds a majority of the seats in the National Assembly (175 out of 300), and Yoon’s move was seen as a response to the opposition working to impeach government officials, blocking a government spending proposal, and making it difficult for Yoon to carry out his agenda in general.
“At 11 pm last night, I declared emergency martial law with my resolute intent to save the nation in the face of anti-state forces that attempt to paralyze the nation’s essential function and the constitutional order of free democracy,” Yoon said in a morning address announcing he was lifting martial law.
“But there was a demand from the National Assembly for the lifting of martial law, (I) have withdrawn troops mobilized to execute martial law affairs,” Yoon added.
The martial law declaration was condemned by both the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, who denounced the move as “wrong” and said he would work to overturn the decision. Opposition politicians are now expected to try to impeach Yoon.
Yoon’s popularity has significantly declined since he came into office in 2022, with his latest approval rating around 25%. His approval rating was at its highest in June 2022, shortly after his inauguration, at 53%.
The US, which has 27,000 troops in South Korea, responded to the political turmoil by voicing “grave concern” and saying that any disputes should be settled peacefully. President Biden has been a strong backer of Yoon and helped advance his agenda of taking a harder line toward North Korea, which has significantly raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Together, Biden and Yoon have restarted major war games on the Korean Peninsula, and the US has deployed significant firepower to South Korea, locking into a cycle of tit-for-tat escalations with North Korea.
Last year, in a major provocation, Biden sent a US nuclear-armed submarine to dock in South Korea for the first time since 1981. A few months before the deployment, Biden hosted Yoon at the White House, and the two leaders announced steps to increase nuclear cooperation meant to give Seoul a role in coordinating the use of US nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict with Pyongyang.
The US also sees South Korea as an ally against China and has been working to repair relations between Seoul and Tokyo as part of Washington’s efforts at alliance building in the region, which is key to the overall US strategy against China in the Asia Pacific.
why was it started in the 1st place?
I don't care for President Duda, but even Mr. Andrzej wouldn't declare martial law (which he can't, only Mr. Donald Tusk could), just to lift it in a few hours
Stay tuned. Things are not what you believe.
Yoon's an ultra-conservative, very strongly aligned with the USA, while the opposition is more leaning towards neutrality and constructive cooperation with China (and by extension North Korea). The opposition controls Parliament and blocked Yoon's budget, also they're trying to get him prosecuted on charges of corruption and nepotism.
Western styled "democracy" in action. "If you don't accept the dictates of those that control Washington DC policies, you aren't democratic.". Pay no attention to the overwhelming opinions of the population.
He’s another narcissist having a hissy fit and dragging his whole country into chaos:
Yoon’s presidency has been mired in scandal. Much of it centred around his wife Kim Keon Hee, who was accused of corruption and influence peddling – most notably allegedly accepting a Dior bag from a pastor.
In November, Yoon apologised on behalf of his wife while rejecting calls for an investigation into her activities.
But his presidential popularity remained wobbly. In early November, his approval ratings tumbled to 17%, a record low since he took office….
In April, the opposition Democratic Party won the parliamentary election by a landslide, dealing a crushing defeat for Yoon and his People Power Party.
Yoon was relegated to a lame duck president and reduced to vetoing bills passed by the opposition, a tactic that he used with “unprecedented frequency”, said Celeste Arrington, director of The George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies.
This week, the opposition slashed the budget the government and ruling party had put forward – and the budget bill cannot be vetoed.
Around the same time, the opposition was moving to impeach cabinet members, mainly the head of the government audit agency, for failing to investigate the first lady.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2nyp3pxrko
ED,
You could whistle Dixie out of your arse and impress us! You rock the truth for peace!
How do you defend "freedom" by declaring martial law?
What evidence is there that North Korea was involved?
I smell a rat.
NK was not involved. The opposition is accused of being pro-NK, just because they are more neutralist and wannabe constructive. Yoon is your usual ultra-conservative monster who feels nostalgic for SK military dictatorship and probably envies how Bukele got away with a similar aggressive measure in El Salvador some years ago.
<I>How do you defend "freedom" by declaring martial law?</I>
Probably the same way as when the military in Honduras staged a coup and Sec of State Clinton called it "restoring democracy" (shortly before she violated US and international law by approving sending more weapons to the Honduran military when they ran low attempting to suppress the protests).
South Korea was the other nightmare human rights violator state on the peninsula for decades. People forget that. The last time I recall any attention given to this by the western public was back in the 1980s when Seoul hosted the Olympics and everyone was able to see police repression of public protest.
Back to the 80s? Marcos is back in Philippines and now Yoon wants to restore the military regime in SK…
you forgot to mention Marco's wife obsession with shoes…!
Not sure how the anecdote matters at all.
Imelda's shoe obsession was what literally put the Philippines on the map for many North Americans back in the day.
Quite ironic considering how the USA has been using and abusing the Philippines for more than a century now, first as colony, then as neo-colony.
The press did that to divert attention from the US Air Farce having ferried Marcos' several tons of stolen gold to Hawaii for no charge.
Paranoia at best…! He revealed one of his characteristics which would be used against him in the future…!
Yoon knows that he has only one tactic left to get Biden's attention and unqualified support. Yell "the North, the North, the North!" Biden will try to save his Korean poodle but it will fail.
One more example of democracy (in S. Korea) working against this pitiable shell of our president.
My friend called Ms out of the blue asking me about this I told him stop reading bull…. I m just wondering when this dummy will get impeached
Max Blumenthal ® @MaxBlumenthal
US @DeputySecState Kurt Campbell said in April that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol should be awarded the Nobel Prize
10h
By the end of the year, Yoon had declared martial law to neutralize unnamed "anti-state" elements
Tim Shorrock @TimothyS
Dec 3
Biden and Blinken are Yoon's biggest supporters because he has become their pawn in their militaristic trilateral alliance with Japan's LDP. Blinken has suggested that Yoon get the Nobel Peace Prize for that. Washington is deeply in bed with this fascist, just as in Korea's past.
https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1864188298979106930
Yep, Yoon's going to prison. The dim-bulb US puppet thought he could get out of being prosecuted for corruption, nepotism and bribery by becoming the dictator, and the hierarchy of the military went along with it (a US general is by law the Commander In Chief of the South Korean military, BTW). Rather telling is that Biden, Blinken and the US State Department notably did NOT condemn the move (which most of Asia immediately did), only said that they were going to watch "with concern" and see what happens.
Edit: It's Friday and the US still hasn't condemned Yoon's attempted coup.
Martial law imposed to thwart a Democratic Party from blocking the executive's whims.
TALK ABOUT FORESHADOWING…!!