SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late-night speech broadcast live on television. YTN television.
Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to protect the free and constitutional order, saying that the opposition parties had taken hostage the parliamentary process to throw the country into a crisis.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eliminate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free Constitution.” Yoon said.
The letter did not mention the specific measures that would be taken.
Yoon cited a proposal by the country’s opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, this week to remove some of the country’s top prosecutors and the party’s rejection of the government’s budget proposal.
The surprise move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to dispute over next year’s budget bill.
Last week, opposition representatives approved a plan to significantly reduce the size of the budget through a parliamentary committee.
“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the judicial and administrative systems and overthrow our liberal democratic system,” Yoon said.
He accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all essential budgets necessary for the country’s basic functions, such as combating drug crimes and maintaining public security (…) and turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”
Yoon went on to describe the opposition, which has a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces bent on overthrowing the regime” and described his decision as “inevitable.”
“I will return the country to normal by getting rid of the anti-state forces as soon as possible.”
The letter did not mention the specific measures that would be taken. Yonhap The news agency reported that the entrance to the Parliament building was closed.
“Tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers armed with guns and knives will rule the country,” Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, said in a live online broadcast.
“The economy of the Republic of Korea will collapse irreversibly. Citizens, please come to the National Assembly,” he added.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details.