In a context of harmful parliamentary debate, the South Korean president unexpectedly declared martial law to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces”. A decree unanimously rejected by Parliament.
The President of South Korea,Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in the country in response to the opposition’s rejection of a budget proposal. An announcement made via a surprise television speech, this Tuesday, December 3, in the context of a deleterious parliamentary debate on the budget.
“To protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces and eliminate elements hostile to the state… I declare emergency martial law,” he said. “Without concern for the livelihood of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed the government, for the purposes of impeachments, special investigations and to protect its leader from legal prosecution,” he continues.
Parliament placed under seal, opposition calls for demonstrations
A decision deemed illegal by the leader of the opposition, Lee Jae-myung, who immediately called on the population to demonstrate. In the process, the North Korean Parliament was placed under seal and helicopters landed on its roof, according to information from the local news agency Yonhap. “President Yoon Suk Yeol’s illegal imposition of martial law is invalid,” he said. “Come to the National Assembly now. I’m going there too,” he added, for what looked like two drops of water to a coup d’état.
That’s when hundreds of people flocked to Parliament against martial law. The tension was palpable on site and almost turned into a fight. Special forces were dispatched to try to enter Parliament, at the initiative of the President of the Republic, facing a crowd who tried to prevent them.
Political activities were banned and the media placed under government surveillance, said army chief Park An-su in a statement to Agence-France-Presse (AFP). The army has withdrawn but indicates that it “will enforce martial law until it is lifted by the president”.
Martial law finally rejected unanimously
In an emergency, and while it legally no longer has political weight, the North Korean Parliament organized a vote to cancel the martial law declared by the president. It was rejected this evening (1 a.m. local time) unanimously by the 190 deputies present out of the 300 parliamentarians in the hemicycle. A procedure for the impeachment of the president should quickly be orchestrated, after this failed coup attempt. The deputy US Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, shared his “great concern” this Tuesday, hoping for an outcome that respects the “rule of law”.