Summary
There is an ongoing underlying anxiety for people in countries with leaders who have narcissistic and/or authoritarian tendencies. One doesn’t know if they will wake up to learn that martial law has been declared with their leader declaring absolute power, using the armed forces to shut down the legislature and take control of all news media.
Martial Law Declared
On 3 Dec 2024, South Korea became the latest country to fall into martial law, unexpectedly, after a single announcement from their president, Yoon Suk Yeol. He said he was protecting the people from communism and the type of oppressive authoritarian non-democratic military regimes that are threats to the country. Yet, in protecting the country from such elements, the president seems to be establishing the very government he claims to be defending the people from.
Many people were closely watching the political developments in South Korea due to the similarities with the United States where the president elect has made similar claims about a leftist communist threat from within, and has spoken about using the military against citizens and all who resist him.
Martial Law Revoked
The martial law lasted 2 hours and 48 minutes according to the report below from Channel 4 News offers more information.
“South Korea president revokes martial law after protests” — A dramatic night in South Korea – locked in an impasse with the opposition over next year’s budget and amid a scandal involving his wife, the hardline prosecutor turned president Yoon Suk Yeol shocked his country and the world by declaring emergency martial law. [Source]
News
Below are related news stories in chronological order, listed by source name and date.
DW News (6 Dec 2024)
“South Korea President Yoon’s own party calls him a ‘great danger’ to citizens” — South Korea’s ruling party leader called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign Friday over his attempt to impose martial law, warning that he poses a grave danger to the country. Han Dong-hun, leader of the People’s Power Party (PPP), said he had received information that Yoon had ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians on charges of “anti-state activities” under martial law. Han’s comments almost guarantee that enough lawmakers will vote to impeach the president on Saturday. Yoon’s impeachment would require the support of at least two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties that jointly submitted the impeachment motion have a combined total of 192 seats. Meanwhile, Han leads an anti-Yoon faction within the ruling party, and 18 lawmakers in his faction voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Yoon’s martial law decree. [Source]
France 24 (5 Dec 2024)
“‘Bogus claim that North Korea infiltrated South Korea opposition rejected across political spectrum'” — South Korea’s president replaced his defense minister as opposition parties moved to impeach both men over the stunning-but-brief imposition of martial law that brought armed troops into Seoul streets. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on Yoon’s shock bid to suspend civilian rule, reflecting a troubled history of South Korean presidents, FRANCE 24’s François Picard welcomes Dr John Nilsson-Wright, Author, Senior Fellow, Asia Programme, at Chatham House and Associate Professor in Modern Japanese Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge. [Source]
ABC (4 Dec 2024)
“South Korea’s president facing impeachment after martial law chaos” — The shock decision by the South Korean president to trigger martial law earlier this week continues to play out in Seoul with the Defence Minister resigning and the military under scrutiny for its role. [Source]
BBC (4 Dec 2024)
“South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol faces impeachment after attempt to impose martial law” — South Korean MPs have begun impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after his move to impose martial law. The president had said martial law was needed to protect the country from “North Korea’s communist forces” and to “eliminate anti-state elements” But less than two hours after his declaration, MPs defied the president, gathering at the National Assembly and voting to block his decision. After the assembly vote, President Yoon announced he was reversing his martial law decision. [Source]
DW News (4 Dec 2024)
“Martial law reversed in South Korea. Who will be held ‘legally responsible’?” — Parties have submitted a bill to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol following his short-lived bid to impose martial law. His short-lived bid to impose martial law has also had diplomatic and financial consequences. Back at the National Assembly, the parliament’s secretary general has banned the military and police force from entering the institution and promised that troops will be held “legally responsible” for any “physical damage and illegal acts” carried out during the six hours of martial law. According to South Korean broadcaster MBC, he said that around 230 armed soldiers had entered the National Assembly grounds via at least 24 helicopter lifts. [Source]
France 24 (4 Dec 2024)
“‘Against will of people’: President Yoon’s ‘miscalculation’ in declaring Martial Law ‘crossed line'” — Troops surrounded South Korea’s parliament overnight after the president declares martial law. He accused pro-North Korean forces of plotting to overthrow one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. As lawmakers voice outrage, and hastily vote to end the declaration, FRANCE 24’s François Picard welcomes Peter Han, Gates Cambridge Scholar at the University of Cambridge and member of the National Unification Advisory Council UK. [Source]
ABC (3 Dec 2024)
“South Korean president declares martial law” — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law” in a televised speech on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported. [Source]
BBC (3 Dec 2024)
“South Korea’s parliament votes to block martial law” — Lawmakers in South Korea have voted to block the president’s move to declare martial law, after both the ruling party and opposition vowed to obstruct the declaration. The resolution requesting the lifting of martial law was passed with 190 of 300 members in attendance, with all present in favour. President Yoon Suk Yeol had declared emergency martial law in the country in a surprise late night television address, calling it necessary to protect the country from North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements. Large crowds have been clashing with police outside the South Korean National Assembly since the unexpected announcement. Martial law means rule by military authorities in a time of emergency, and can mean the suspension of normal civil rights. [Source]
Bloomberg (3 Dec 2024)
“South Korea’s President Declares Martial Law in Emergency Address” — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stunned voters, lawmakers and investors by declaring martial law on Tuesday after accusing the opposition of trying to paralyze his administration amid a political rift that is set to deepen markedly. Yoon delivered an emergency national television address. Bloomberg’s Michael Shepard has the latest on this breaking story. [Source]
CNN (3 Dec 2024)
“South Korean president declares emergency martial law” — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an unannounced late-night TV address, accusing the country’s main opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and of anti-state activities. [Source]
DW News (3 Dec 2024)
“Breaking: South Korea’s president declares martial law against ‘communist forces'” — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has used a surprise late-night TV address to declare martial law. President Yoon said the move was necessary to protect the country from what he called communist forces. Opposition leaders denounced the president’s announcement as illegal and unconstitutional and said they would seek to nullify it. The president has struggled to push his agenda in the opposition-controlled parliament, which has blocked next year’s budget. For more, we talk to journalist Fabian Kretschmer in the South Korean capital, Seoul. [Source]
France 24 (3 Dec 2024)
“South Korea: ‘a very confusing situation’ after the President declared the martial law” — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea. The parliament, surrounded by protesters and police, voted to lift the decree just hours later. France 24’s correspondent in the region Yena Lee decodes the situation. [Source]
Sky News U.K. (3 Dec 2024)
“Reaction: ‘This isn’t some kind of unstable dictatorship’ | South Korea Crisis” — Britain’s former ambassador to North Korea, John Everard, says he feels “shock and horror” over the imposition of martial law by South Korea’s president. Yoon Suk Yeol said he was making the move because North Korea had infiltrated the country’s opposition party. Mr Everard said the justification was the “flimsiest of excuses”. [Source]
Times Radio (3 Dec 2024)
“Chaos in South Korea as South Korean military maintains martial law” — “There is this background of using the military to enforce presidential rule. That seems to have been reawakened in the case of President Yoon.” The chaos in South Korea undermines the belief that the country’s history with military dictatorships was all “in the past”, says The Times’s Richard Spencer. [Source]