South Korean president declared martial law across the country

[sahgwa]

Despite living and working there my friend had to tip me off to this south Korean news.

This reads to me like projection, from the President, IE he is the corrupt one and since the Trump election, things were cleaning  house in the background.

martial law was NOT the mainstream news version of anti North Koreans but rather anti clean up.

Last night their president voted for martial law 'to eradicate pro north Korean elements and protect order' or something. then there was protests against it in the streets large and then today congress voted 190 to lift the martial law and declared it illegal. 

here is last night korean version;
https://news.kbs.co.kr/news/pc/view/view.do?ncd=8121885


President Yoon Declares Emergency Martial Law at Late Night Emergency Address at Presidential Office in Yongsan

Input 2024.12.03 (22:28)
Revised 2024.12.03 (23:08)

Summary

President Yoon Seok-yeol declared emergency martial law today (the 3rd).

President Yoon held an emergency address at the Presidential Office in Yongsan tonight and said, "I declare emergency martial law in order to eradicate the shameless pro-North Korea anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect the free constitutional order."

President Yoon first said, "Citizens, as President, I appeal to you with a heart full of blood," and "So far, the National Assembly has initiated 22 impeachment motions against government officials since the launch of our government, and has pushed for the impeachment of the 10th person since the launch of the 22nd National Assembly in June."

He also stated, “This is not only unprecedented in any country in the world, but also unprecedented since the founding of the country,” and “They are paralyzing the judiciary by intimidating judges and impeaching a large number of prosecutors, and even paralyzing the executive branch by impeaching the Minister of Public Administration and Security, the Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the Minister of National Defense.”

He added, “They have also completely cut all major budgets for the essential functions of the state, cracking down on drug crimes, and maintaining public safety and order, thereby damaging the essential functions of the state and turning the Republic of Korea into a drug paradise and a state of public safety panic.”

President Yoon emphasized, “This budgetary tyranny is, in a word, a mockery of the national finances of the Republic of Korea,” and “This is a clear anti-state act that tramples on the constitutional order of the free Republic of Korea and disrupts legitimate state institutions under the Constitution and law, and is plotting an internal rebellion.”

He said, “The lives of the people are not even in our sights, and the state administration is paralyzed only by impeachment, special prosecution, and the bulletproof armament of the opposition party leader,” and “Our National Assembly has now become a den of criminals, and they are attempting to paralyze the judicial and administrative system of the country through legislative dictatorship and overthrow the liberal democratic system.”

He explained, “The National Assembly, which should be the foundation of liberal democracy, has become a monster that is destroying the liberal democratic system,” and “The Republic of Korea is now in a state of flux, so much so that it would not be strange if it collapsed at any moment.”

President Yoon said, “Dear citizens, I will protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of the North Korean communist forces,” and “I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the abyss of national ruin, through martial law.”

President Yoon said, “We will definitely eradicate the anti-state forces that have been the root of the country’s ruin so far,” and “This is an inevitable measure to protect the freedom and safety of the people and the sustainability of the country from the activities of anti-state forces that seek to overthrow the system, and to pass on a proper country to future generations.”

He added, “We will eradicate anti-state forces and normalize the country as soon as possible,” and “The declaration of martial law will cause many inconveniences to the good citizens who believed in and followed the values ​​of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, but we will focus on minimizing such inconveniences.”

President Yoon concluded his speech by saying, “These measures are unavoidable for the sustainability of the free Republic of Korea, and there is no change in the foreign policy keynote of fulfilling our responsibilities and contributions to the international community.” He added, “As president, I earnestly appeal to the people. I will only trust in the people and devote my life to protecting the free Republic of Korea. Please trust me.”
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To me, it sounds like there was a shake up to get rid of corruption and the one who cries loudest against the shake up (current president) is the most corrupt?  Similar to UK , Germany, and USA. who knows?

[ArMaP]

So, technically, it should be over.

If the Martial Law includes a prohibition of "all political activities, including the activities of the National Assembly", the Assembly's decisions are against the law and should be void, at least according to my interpretation.

Prohibiting all political activity to "save" democracy sounds a little strange...

PS: during the CoViD-19 pandemic, South Korea was the country in which things were more controlled because the authorities knew where everybody was or had been, as they all use electronic devices that make it easy to follow anyone's movements.
Doesn't sound much democratic.

[Encia22]

Yes, ArMaP, that's what I thought as well, but then I read that even the president's declaration of martial law wasn't valid because a Cabinet meeting had not been held beforehand.

Anyway, I'm now reading that Yoon Suk Yeol said that he will lift martial law in the next few hours.

[Maxmars]

But I thought the entire point of an "executive" officer of a government was to enable the extraordinary act necessary to maintain governance during an emergency.  Of course, democracy implies ratification, but to say that a president cannot declare martial law seems to imply a lack of trust in the executive. 

Perhaps South Korea's culture is significantly different, but emergencies are no time for a 'confab.'  Especially one populated exclusively by 'politicians.'

Never mind though, my questions are moot.

[ArMaP]

But I thought the entire point of an "executive" officer of a government was to enable the extraordinary act necessary to maintain governance during an emergency.  Of course, democracy implies ratification, but to say that a president cannot declare martial law seems to imply a lack of trust in the executive.

It depends. In Portugal, the president has the power to declare the state of emergency or the state of siege (we don't have martial law) after consulting the government, but the parliament has the power to override the president's decision.

[UltraBudgie]

Martial Law Commander, Army General Park An-su, Tuesday, December 3, 2024.

Park An-su. Oh, interesting, this is Park Geun-hye's brother.

All I remember about Park Geun-hye is that she was the former president, deposed in 2016, and sentenced to decades in jail. And the whole cult thing. I wonder what her brother's story is.

[sahgwa]

Them finding the Chinese guy shipping weapons to North Korea today, stinks of a distraction or something rotten to do with this as well.

His visa expired a decade ago but nothing was done?!
It's cheaper to ship to NK from the USA than just getting the weapons from China and shipping to their neighbour down there?!
Nothing adds up.




https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shenghua-we...alifornia/

[quintessentone]

We all should be paying attention as to how a government can use the military to suppress opposition and gain total control all without evidence of any wrongdoing. edit: I see that martial law was lifted, still the premise remains and maybe next time it won't be lifted.

[Maxmars]

Sometimes I wonder at the general idea of a leader being able to demand a military posture to cope with their own political desperation.

While it seems imprudent to limit government responses to threats to the result of organized deliberation within consensus; clearly some leaders can convince themselves that their plans and policies should be protected from interference and inquiry from any political opponents... regardless of the law.  Apparently also feeling that any and all measures to the effect of silencing dissent are acceptable... including taking away the rights of any opposition without the burden of 'due process'.

If there is corruption and disfunction within the leadership, it is the body of the law that should provide both the means to expose it, and the tools to remedy it.  But many cultures and 'social paradigms' often create opportunities for abuse... and ambitious people will seize that opportunity and act rashly despite appearances.

We have seen it before in history at many levels, and in many forms, all over the world.

Most of the people of the free world have learned to recognize the first signs of such an inclination to abuse: usually taking the form of... "Things you are 'not allowed' to talk about in a public forum."  And the 'tell-tale' characterization that follows, 'threats' to our way of life... 'threats' to our 'democracy.'

[sahgwa]

I said it once and I will say it again, screaming about outside influences on their democracy without any real evidence of such is a very loud 'crying wolf' moment and reeks of a cover up of a real bit of corruption and 'bleach bit-ing' going on behind the scenes. 

A bit of chaebol oldboy-ism going on , completing bypassing parliamentary/congressional procedure:
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was completely unaware of President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration. This was because Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a former upperclassman of President Yoon in high school, bypassed the prime minister and communicated directly with the president.

It's like Biden-enko contacting Secdef in secret and having him move troops without any congressional oversight.  Sounds like the Koreans learnt how to bypass Constitutions from us , eh? 

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/...87639.html