Things on the global stage continue to grow more tense by the day it seems, as South Korean Yoon Suk-yelo shocked the world on Tuesday morning by announcing he was declaring a state of “emergency martial law” due to “subversive, anti-state elements” that have popped up within the opposition that is continuing to block his agenda. With neighbors like North Korea waiting with eager trigger fingers for some kind of reason to justify an assault against South Korea, this is a dangerous situation. And if that turns into a war, our world becomes even less stable.
According to a report from Breitbart, this is the first time that martial law has been declared in South Korea since the 1980s when the country came out of its military dictatorship.
“I declare martial law to protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces, to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous pro-Pyongyang anti-state forces that pillage the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect free constitutional order,” Yoon went on to say say in an emergency press conference broadcast from his office in Seoul.
Yoon accused the opposition of “paralyzing the courts in the country by threatening the judges and impeaching prosecutors, and by attempting to remove the Interior Minister, top broadcasting regulator, chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the Defense Minister.”
Yoon also said the opposition’s move to cut $2.8 billion from the $483 billion 2025 national budget was a scheme to paralyze his government. The opposition wants to deny extra spending for the presidential office, prosecutors, and police requested in Yoon’s budget. The president’s supporters say one reason for these cuts is to undermine court cases against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who was convicted of election law violations last month. Yoon referred to the National Assembly, where Lee’s Democratic Party holds 170 out of 300 seats, as a “hotbed of criminals” in his declaration of martial law.
At the beginning of the week, the speaker of parliament froze voting on the budget until Dec. 10. Yoon stated on Tuesday that martial law would stay in effect until he was able to “eradicate such anti-state forces and the culprits of the country’s ruin who have committed evil acts up until now.”
“The declaration of martial law will cause some inconveniences for good citizens who believed in and followed the constitutional values of free people, but we will focus on minimizing such inconveniences,” he explained during the press conference.
He then told the people of South Korea that these inconveniences were absolutely necessary ino rder to “guarantee the people’s freedom, safety and national sustainability against the actions of anti-state forces seeking to overthrow the system.”
“I will wipe out anti-state forces as soon as possible and normalize the country’s operation,” he told his people. “Please trust me.”
The South Korean opposition was, unsurprisingly, opposed to Yoon’s declaration of martial law, but so was Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party. Han issued a statement on Tuesday that said he would “oppose the declaration of martial law alongside the people.”
“The President’s declaration of martial law is wrong,” Han proclaimed.
“There is no reason to declare martial law. We cannot let the military rule this country,” opposition leader Lee remarked.
“President Yoon Seok Yeol has betrayed the people. President Yoon’s illegal declaration of emergency martial law is null and void. From this moment on, Mr. Yoon is no longer the president of South Korea.”
Lee then asked the South Korean military to disobey Yoon’s orders. You can bet how that probably went over with those who are serving.
“Soldiers, the guns and bayonets you have, the power you have, come from the people. The owners of this country are the people. The one you should obey is not Yoon Suk Yeol but the people,” he commented.
Media in the country revealed protesters trying to storm the parliament building, which has been under lockdown under military protection since the order was given.
Yoon himself has been fending off calls for independent investigations into several scandals involving his wife Kim Keon-hee and top officials from his party. Yoon and Kim are accused of interfering in the party’s choice of candidate for a legislative seat in 2022 at the behest of a powerful supporter named Myung Tae-kyun. Yoon is down to 25% approval in the polls, slipping again last week after a modest recovery in early November. His People Power Party is polling at 32%, while the opposition Democratic Party (DP) sits at 45%.
“The imposition of martial law was not a complete surprise, as the DP accused Yoon of plotting to do exactly that in September. The DP said Yoon would impose martial law to prevent the parliament from impeaching him for abuse of power, touching off a storm of angry denials and counter-accusations,” the report revealed.
Park An-su later issued a statement on Tuesday stating that “all political activities, including those of the National Assembly, local councils, political parties, and political associations, as well as assemblies and demonstrations, are strictly prohibited.”
“All media and publications shall be subject to the control of the Martial Law Command,” he also said.
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