During a late-night TV address on Dec. 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol suddenly declared emergency martial law, claiming the opposing political party was controlling parliament and sympathizing with communist North Korea. While martial law only lasted for two hours, a lot of chaos unfolded during those few hours.
In Yoon’s Tuesday night TV address, he vowed to, “Eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.” He then declared an emergency martial law as a way to, “Safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements.”
While President Yoon claimed to have enforced martial law as a way to protect South Korea from external North Korean threats, many believe that his sudden decree was spurred by his own desperate political struggles, as the rival parties have had control of the national assembly since Yoon’s inauguration.
Martial law involves the temporary military takeover of the civilian government along with exercising jurisdiction over the civilians during emergencies such as war or rebellion. When martial law is in effect, the military commander, in the case of the United States and South Korea, the president, would have unlimited power and authority to make and enforce laws.
In order to stop the vote to lift martial law, parliament and other political gatherings were suspended, with a penalty of arrest without a warrant. Despite this, the National Assembly still chose to meet in order to hold a vote declaring Yoon’s use of martial law unconstitutional. Helmeted troops and police officers were deployed to the National Assembly parliament building, as a way to block lawmakers from voting, attempting to stop the National Assembly from getting the necessary amount of votes to reverse martial law.
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In a desperate attempt to get into the parliament building, opposition party leader, Lee Jae-myung went on YouTube live and broadcasted himself climbing over the parliament building walls in order to get inside and vote to reverse the law.
Staff members and civilians were seen confronting and holding off the armed troops in order to allow the vote to happen. One rival party politician, Ahn Gwi-ryeong, was seen fearlessly grabbing the gun of a soldier during the commotion and yelling at the troop in a viral video of the protest. Ahn and her colleagues were desperate to keep the troops from entering the building, where the vote would be held, they locked the doors and used furniture to block the doors.
The National Assembly ended up being able to meet and obtain a unanimous vote to lift martial law. They deemed President Yoon’s attempt at martial law unconstitutional and illegal, and suspended his powers while they discussed whether or not to impeach him.
Yoon’s attempt at martial law sparked mass cries for his impeachment among South Korean Citizens. Massive protests broke out outside of the parliament building for his impeachment. The protests caught the attention of social media as young protesters took over the streets with lightsticks, which are typically reserved for concerts, flooding Yeouido, a district in Seoul, with colorful lights, along with playing K-pop songs as they protested. Protesters were also seen accessorizing themselves with Christmas decorations, Santa Outfit, colorful light sticks, and LED candles.
Some popular South Korean celebrities, who typically try to stray away from anything political, have shown their support in calling for Yoon’s impeachment, offering free hot food and beverages in select locations in the Yeouido, showing just how much President Yoon has fallen out of favor in the eyes of South Korean civilians.
On Saturday, Dec. 14, South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach Yoon for his martial law attempt and his abuse of power, sparking celebration from protestors.
