 "South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol imposes martial law, then reverses it: What comes next?")
December 3, Tuesday, began like any other day in South Korea. Then evening came and around 10.30 pm (local time), President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in the Asian nation, blasting the opposition as “anti-state forces” threatening the country’s democracy.
This marked the first time in four decades that South Korea saw the imposition of martial law.
However, within six hours of his initial order, Yoon backed down in the face of protests, revoking his earlier decree of martial law.
The extraordinary turn of events has pushed South Korea into chaos, with calls from lawmakers and citizens for Yoon to resign or face impeachment.
Still confused as to what happened in South Korea? Want to know what comes next? Here’s what we know.
What is martial law that was imposed in South Korea?
Just as people were going to bed on Tuesday (December 3), South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a dramatic address to the nation, saying he was imposing martial law. Martial law is written into South Korea’s constitution, which states that a president can impose it when it is considered necessary to cope with a military threat or to maintain public safety and order.
In his address, he accused the country’s main opposition party of sympathising with North Korea and of “anti-state” activities.
“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,” Yoon said.
Following this, the military declared a six-point decree, banning political activities and parties, “false propaganda”, strikes and “gatherings that incite social unrest”. It also brought media outlets under the control of the government. Moreover, the decree stated that those who violate martial law could be arrested without a warrant.
With this, Yoon became the first president in four decades to impose martial law. The last time it was imposed was in 1980 after the assassination, in 1979, of Park Chung-hee, the-then president. His death prompted Chun Doo-hwan, a general in the military, to declare martial law nationwide as he attempted to take control of the government.
While Yoon made claims of North Korean threats and anti-state activities by the opposition, some believe that the imposition of martial law came due to the row between the president and the opposition Democratic Party over the budget.
What happened next in South Korea?
Yoon’s announcement of martial law resulted in shock and anger with many taking to the streets almost immediately, condemning the South Korean president’s move. Thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand the president back down, chanting “Arrest him!”
“It feels like Yoon just got drunk and suddenly announced this late at night—it makes no sense,” one protester was quoted by The Economist. “Is this reality?” asked another.
Meanwhile, South Korean MPs, almost 190 of them, pushed past the security forces which had sealed the National Assembly with visuals showing scuffles between politicians and officers.
Once inside, the MPs voted unanimously to revoke the president’s decree. Members of the president’s own party also denounced the move, with the party chief apologising to the public and demanding an explanation from the president.
Lee Jae-myung, the opposition leader, said Yoon’s announcement was “illegal and unconstitutional”. South Korea’s main opposition Democratic party, led by Lee, called the president’s move “essentially a coup d’etat”.
Shortly after the vote, the military, which had taken control of the National Assembly premises, left and President Yoon backed down, saying he would lift his martial law decree just hours after he had issued it.
“Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations,” Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 am on Wednesday.
By South Korean law, the president has to comply with the National Assembly when they request the lifting of such a declaration through a majority vote of members.
What comes next for Yoon?
It is quite evident that Yoon’s decision to declare martial law has backfired and he may very well have to pay the price for it. Yoon’s own staff has also turned on him — with his chief of staff and more than 10 senior secretaries resigning. Moreover, the chief of Yoon’s own party has also called for the removal of the defence minister for recommending martial law.
His rash action has also led to calls of his resignation or him being impeached. South Korea’s main opposition party demanded that Yoon step down immediately over the attempted “insurrection”.
If Yoon failed to leave, the party warned that it would “immediately initiate impeachment proceedings in line with the will of the people”.
In fact, lawmakers from different opposition parties said they planned to introduce a bill to impeach the president, which should be voted on within 72 hours, unless he immediately resigned. “Even if martial law is lifted, he cannot avoid treason charges. It was clearly revealed to the entire nation that President Yoon could no longer run the country normally. He should step down,” senior DP member of parliament Park Chan-dae said in a statement.
For the impeachment to go through, more than two-thirds of lawmakers need to vote for it following which a trial is held by the constitutional court, which can confirm it with a vote by six of the nine justices.
And it’s not just the Democratic Party that has called for his resignation. The country’s largest labour union also called an “indefinite general strike” until Yoon resigned.
Even citizens of South Korea called for his impeachment, saying that revoking his decree of martial law doesn’t absolve him of wrongdoing. Lim Myeong-pan, 55, told AFP, “Yoon’s act of imposing it in the first place without legitimate cause is a serious crime in itself. He has paved his own path to impeachment with this.”
What does all this mean for South Korea?
Chaos and instability. That’s what it means for South Korea. Experts note that if Yoon doesn’t resign and the opposition pushes for impeachment, it would result in bedlam in the country. That’s because the process would drag on for months, with the political system in limbo. Moreover, it would also have serious foreign policy implications.
Some experts also note that this move has negatively impacted the country’s reputation with BBC reporting that some believe that Yoon’s move is more damaging to South Korea than even the January 6 riots in the United States.
“Yoon’s declaration of martial law appeared to be both legal overreach and a political miscalculation, unnecessarily risking South Korea’s economy and security,” one expert, Leif-Eric Easley at Ewha University in Seoul told the BBC.
“He sounded like a politician under siege, making a desperate move against mounting scandals, institutional obstruction and calls for impeachment, all of which are now likely to intensify.”
With inputs from agencies
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