South Korea’s president has declared “emergency martial law”, saying the step was necessary to protect the country from “communist forces” and “anti-state elements”.
Amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill, Yoon Suk-yeol apparently granted the military powers to maintain order in a live televised address.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements … I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said.
• South Korea latest: president declares emergency martial law
It was not immediately clear how the announcement would affect the country’s governance and democracy. The Speaker of parliament in Seoul was said to be attempting to convene a session after the live address.
Yoon spoke of threats posed by North Korea, led by Kim Jong-un
KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY/KOREA NEWS SERVICE VIA AP
Lee Jae-myung, the opposition leader, said he would try to block the “illegal and unconstitutional” imposition of martial law, but expressed fears that the army may try to arrest members of parliament.
The leader of Yoon’s own People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, called his decision “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people”.
According to Korea’s Yonhap news agency, General Park An-su has been appointed martial law commander.
In a statement, the military said activities at parliament, local councils and by political parties would be suspended. “All media and publications [are] under martial law control,” the country’s Yonhap news agency reported.
The entrance to South Korea’s parliament, the National Assembly, was sealed off after Yoon’s unscheduled announcement, according to the reports.
Helicopters were seen landing on the roof of the building in Seoul in live television footage shown by broadcasters.
Pictures from the capital also appeared to show military vehicles travelling in convoy on major roads.
A Korean police official told the agency: “Once martial law is declared, all power goes to the Ministry of National Defence, which then appoints a martial law commander.” He added: “Police enforce social control under the orders of the martial law commander. We, too, must wait for orders.”
All medical personnel have been told to return to work within 48 hours. More than 12,000 junior doctors have been on strike for months over pay and conditions.
The developments came as the People Power Party and its main opposition, Lee’s Democratic Party, bickered over next year’s budget bill. Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized plan.
In his address, Yoon did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents. He accused them of paralysing the government “solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations and shielding their leader from justice” — an apparent reference to Lee being convicted on charges of violating election law.
“Our national assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.
Citizens in Seoul watch a news broadcast in October with footage of a North Korean missile test
AFP
He accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combating drug crimes and maintaining public security … turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”
Yoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime”. He said his decision was “inevitable”, adding: “I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible.”
He asked South Koreans to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences”. Invoking South Korea’s formal name, he said: “Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin.”
Last month the Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of making false statements before the 2022 presidential election in violation of the Public Official Election Act.
Lee said after the hearing that he would appeal. If the conviction is upheld, he would have to stand down as an MP and be barred from public office for the next five years — preventing him from standing in the next presidential election in 2027.