South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech to declare martial law in Seoul, South Korea, on December 3, 2024.
CNN | Published December 4, 2024
Last year, a blockbuster movie gripped South Korea with a dramatization of a painful memory from its authoritarian past, when the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979 led to a military coup and plunged the country into the iron grip of martial law.
So when South Koreans watched in shock and anger as their current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law on live TV last night, some feared their democratic country was veering dangerously close to reenacting that dark chapter.
Yoon was forced to back down and lifted the martial law order just hours later, after lawmakers unanimously voted to block the decree amid a fierce national outcry.
The night of extraordinary events sent shock waves across the country.
“Who would have thought that in this day and age that martial law would be declared? But it happened. And it was a surprise for all of us,” retired army Lt. Gen. Chun In-bum told CNN.
But the political whiplash is far from over.
Six opposition parties submitted a bill on Wednesday afternoon calling for Yoon’s impeachment, Yonhap News Agency reported.
“The president lacks independent power now,” said Sungmin Park, a political analyst at Min Consulting in Seoul, saying Yoon’s decree had been “political suicide.”
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SOURCE: www.cnn.com
RELATED: South Korea’s President Yoon declares emergency martial law
Parliament voted later in the evening requiring President Yoon to lift the martial law he declared earlier.
While making the announcement on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk-yeol said he will rebuild a free and democratic country through martial law [Anthony Wallace/AFP]
AL JAZEERA | Published December 3, 2024
South Korea’s president has declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of antistate activities.
Entrance to the National Assembly was sealed on Tuesday and parliamentarians were barred from entering the building, according to local news outlet Yonhap.
While making the announcement in a late-night televised address, President Yoon Suk-yeol said he will rebuild a free and democratic country through martial law.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate antistate elements … I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address.
“This is an unavoidable measure to ensure the freedom and safety of the people and guarantee the sustainability of the nation against the unrest stirred by these subversive, antistate elements.
“The National Assembly has also completely cut budgets essential for national operations, drug crime prevention and public safety, undermining the core functions of the state. This has left our citizens in a state of chaos with the nation becoming a haven for drugs and public safety collapsing.”
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SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
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