President Yoon of South Korea imposes martial law and attacks his own people

In a surprise late-night TV address on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced martial law. He criticized political opponents in the country and shocked people all over the world.

Yoon said that different groups in the opposition were holding up the voting process. He promised to get rid of “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces” and said he had no choice but to do what he did to protect the constitution.

The military told the Yonhap news agency that lawmakers and political parties would not be able to do anything, and that the martial law command would be in charge of the media and publishers.

Yoon didn’t say anything specific about a threat from the nuclear-armed North. Instead, he talked about his political opponents at home. This is the first time since 1980 that South Korea has had martial rule.

South Korea has had a number of dictators in the past, but since the 1980s, it has been seen as a democracy.

The U.S. dollar was worth a lot more than the Korean won. A person from the central bank said that steps were being planned to help calm the market if that became necessary. A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said in a text message that he has called an emergency meeting of top economic officials.

Moon Jae-in, who was president before Yoon and is from the Democratic Party, wrote on X that the country’s democracy is in trouble. “I hope that the National Assembly will act quickly to protect our democracy from crumbling,” he said in a post.

“I ask the people to join forces to protect and save democracy and to help the National Assembly function normally.”

A White House spokesman said that the US is in touch with the South Korean government and is keeping a close eye on things.

There are about 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea to protect it from the North. A spokesman for the U.S. military authority did not pick up the phone when it was called several times.

Outside of business hours, the office of Japan’s prime minister could not be reached right away for a response.

Yoon Makes Fun of Parliament

“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” said Yoon.

Yoon did not say right away who the pro-North Korean anti-state groups were. But he has said in the past that these groups were getting in the way of his plans and hurting the country.

In his speech, he didn’t say what exact steps will be taken. From what Yonhap heard, the entrance to the parliament building was closed.

“Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country,” spoke Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, an opposition party with the most seats in parliament. He said this in an online livestream. “The economy of the Republic of Korea will fall apart forever.” People of the country, please come to the National Assembly.

This week, the country’s opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, moved to impeach some of the country’s top prosecutors. They also turned down a government budget plan, which Yoon used as evidence.

“Our parliament is now a place where criminals come to stay.” It has slowed down the legal and administrative systems by rushing through laws that were opposed, and it is now trying to take down our democracy system, Yoon said.

Last week, the opposition DP cut more than 4 trillion won from the government’s budget plan. On Monday, South Korea’s ministers spoke out against this. Yoon said that move hurts the basic way that government administration works.

On Saturday, South Korea’s opposition parties held a rally asking for Yoon to allow a special prosecutor to look into claims of fraud against the first lady. This is the latest protest against Yoon by these parties and civic groups in recent weeks.

In October, North Korean propaganda leaflets that looked like they were carried by balloons were found all over the streets of Seoul. Some of the pamphlets were mean to Yoon and the first lady personally.