South Korean president declares martial law, overruled by parliament

By Alvin Wu
Foreign Affairs
South Korean president declares martial law, overruled by parliament

A man grapples with a martial law soldier in front of the South Korean National Assembly. AP/Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ugTLO9-p8)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (ZFJ) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 3, only for it to be overruled by the National Assembly several hours later.

In an unannounced press conference at 10:23 p.m. on Tuesday, Yoon accused the opposition Democratic Party of “an obvious anti-state act that plots insurrection” for attempting to impeach multiple government officials and cutting public safety budgets.

“Our National Assembly has become a den of criminals and is attempting to paralyze the nation’s judicial administration system through legislative dictatorship and overthrow the liberal democracy system,” said Yoon.

Dear citizens, I declare emergency martial law to defend the free Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces and to eradicate the shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect the free constitutional order.

— South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol

“Through this emergency martial law, I will rebuild and defend the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into ruin. To this end, I will surely eradicate the criminals of the anti-state forces who have been committing atrocities so far.”

Martial law is a power of the president that hands control of the government over from civilians to the military and is a status meant for times of emergency, such as war. Yoon’s declaration entailed the prohibition of all political activities, including protests and parliamentary proceedings, as well as censorship of the media.

The government also ordered doctors who have been striking since February of this year to return to their jobs.

Following the TV broadcast, civilians rushed to protest in front of the National Assembly building en masse. They were met by soldiers and riot police attempting to block people from entering the building, and fights broke out.

Video from The Associated Press shows civilians grappling with soldiers outside the National Assembly building. 　

Video from The Associated Press shows people obstructing a military vehicle near the National Assembly building. 　

A report by The Associated Press notes that the military announced restrictions on political activities at 11:28 p.m. but took “no immediate steps to enforce” the prohibition.

South Korean law grants the National Assembly, the nation’s parliament, the power to end the president’s martial law decree. Additionally, no National Assembly member may be arrested under martial law unless caught red-handed committing a crime.

As such, Woo Won-shik, speaker of the National Assembly, called on lawmakers to report for a meeting, as 150 of the parliament’s 300 members must be present to achieve quorum and thus conduct business. He later posted on Facebook that the door to the building had been blocked by the police, so he had to climb over a fence to gain access and initiate parliamentary proceedings.

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung began a livestream in his car while he drove to the parliament building. He encouraged citizens to also go to help lawmakers get inside and expressed concerns that the military might try to arrest parliament members. The stream later shows that he also jumped a fence to gain access.

Woo was able to initiate the 15th plenary session of the 418th National Assembly, and on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 1:00 a.m., the 190 members who made it unanimously passed a resolution to demand an end to martial law.

“Today, our people and the National Assembly confirmed that the National Assembly is the last source of democracy in Korea,” Woo posted on Facebook. “You believed in the National Assembly and stood by us. Thank you very much to the people.”

Martial law troops began to withdraw after the parliament invalidated Yoon’s declaration.

At 4:20 a.m., Yoon held a second press conference where he announced that he had ordered troops to withdraw in line with the National Assembly’s decision. He still said that the opposition was conducting activities that were “paralyzing the functions of the state.”

Ten minutes later, the State Council, the president’s cabinet, achieved a quorum in an emergency meeting and officially ended martial law.

The opposition party is now calling for Yoon to resign. The National Assembly is expected to vote on the impeachment within the 72 hours after the motion was introduced, according to the constitution’s requirements.

Per South Korea’s constitution, the impeachment requires two thirds or more of the parliament’s votes. Yoon would be removed from office, and the matter would go before the Constitutional Court for adjudication.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, the ruling party, backed Yoon’s accusations against the Democratic Party, which he said had performed “violent” actions, and declared that he would oppose the impeachment.

“I was more worried yesterday and until this morning than on the day martial law was declared. As the party leader, I will do my best to prevent this impeachment from passing in order to prevent damage to the people and supporters due to unprepared confusion,” Han said. “However, I am absolutely not trying to defend the president’s unconstitutional martial law. From the very beginning of martial law, I have been the first to share the people’s anger and patriotism about this situation, and I will continue to share it in the future.”

Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun resigned after the National Assembly also moved to impeach him.

South Korea has a long history of military dictatorships and use of martial law to suppress dissent. Martial law had not been declared since the country democratized in 1987 until Tuesday night.

In 1979, after President Park Chung-hee was assassinated, General Chun Doo-hwan performed a coup. Chun then declared martial law in May 1980, banning political activities and closing universities, prompting student protests in the city of Gwangju. The government claimed that communist pro-North Korean sympathizers were rioting. Soldiers deployed to the city killed about 200 students in what is presently known as the Gwangju Uprising.

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