South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law” on Tuesday, accusing the opposition of paralyzing the government with anti-state activities.
In a surprise late-night TV address, Yoon said the move was needed to protect the country from anti-state activities. He also accused the opposition of being sympathetic with North Korea.
Yoon has been a lame duck president since the latest general election when the opposition won a landslide.
He was not able to pass the laws he wanted, instead, he was reduced to vetoing desperately any bills that the opposition had been passing.
Yoon is also mired in several scandals, mainly one around his wife, who is accused of corruption. She is also accused of influence peddling. The opposition has been trying to launch a special investigation against her.
This week, the opposition slashed budgets that the government and ruling party had put forward – and the budget bill cannot be vetoed.
In the same week, the opposition is moving to impeach cabinet members, mainly the head of the government audit agency, for failing to investigate the first lady.
Yoon has gone for the nuclear option – he claims it is to restore order when “anti-state” forces he says are trying to paralyse the country.
Yoon Suk Yeol has been South Korea’s president since 2022.
He’s part of the People Power Party and won the presidential election by narrowly defeating his opponent, Lee Jae-myung, by just 0.7 percentage points. This was the closest election since South Korea started direct elections in 1987.
The president has faced low approval ratings due to various controversies and scandals, including those involving his wife, such as alleged stock manipulation and allegedly accepting a luxury Dior handbag. Last month, Yoon apologised, saying his wife should have conducted herself better.
Yoon is also having a tough time pushing his agendas in parliament, which is controlled by the opposition.
The Yonhap news agency is reporting that the leader of South Korean opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, has said the declaration of martial law is unconstitutional.
Yonhap is also reporting that Han Dong-hoon, the head of the ruling People Power Party – of which President Yoon Suk Yeol is a member – has also vowed to block the declaration, describing it as “wrong”.
In brief, martial law is a temporary rule by military authorities in a time of emergency, when the civil authorities are deemed unable to function.
The implementation of martial law can have legal impacts, such as the suspension of normal civil rights and the extension of military law.
Martial law is, in theory, temporary but it may continue indefinitely.
By Agencies
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