South Korea is under martial law
President YOON SUK YEOL of South Korea, this Tuesday, December 3, proclaimed martial law in the country.
As a reminder, martial law: “Martial law is the establishment in a country of a legal state of exception, within which the army ensures the maintenance of order in place of the police or in collaboration with the latter. It is the head of state who “invokes” martial law, which means that the chief of staff of the armed forces takes power for a limited time. This type of legal norm is comparable to a certain extent to the state of siege.“
In summary, the President takes all the powers, the general assembly is closed, and manages the country with the army to maintain order. Normally this law is only applied in countries during a siege.
So why was this measure taken?
Current President YOON SUK YEOL said that within the government and general assembly, opposition parties were trying to carry out “anti-state activities” with a view to “rebellion.”
He declared
“I will protect and restore a free Republic of Korea that has fallen into an abyss through this martial law and I will eradicate the anti-state forces that are ruining the nation and the core that has done evil” continuing that “it is an inevitable measure to protect the freedom, security and sustainability of the nation against the anti-state forces that aim at the overthrow of the regime.“
In this speech that was made late at night in Korea, the president calls on the people to trust him so he said “I will quickly normalize the country by eradicating these anti-state forces“. Let us recall that when martial law is declared, the president and the army have all the power, arbitrary arrests can take place.
The move came after the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) pushed through the parliament’s budget committee to approve a reduced budget plan for 2025 and filed impeachment motions against the head of the Board of Supervision and Inspection (BAI) and the top prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
Already on social media, locals and foreigners on the scene have begun to see various military vehicles being positioned.
Following the announcement, media and entertainment companies have been told to cancel or postpone their various end-of-year events, and must obtain approval to be able to talk about what is happening.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Korean medias (Yonhap …)
