South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in an emergency declaration on Tuesday, December 3, “to protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces.”
Martial law was declared by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday, December 3, saying that this measure was necessary to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces.”
“To protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements, … I declare emergency martial law,” the president said in a televised address, in a context of heated parliamentary debate on the budget.
“Without concern for the livelihood of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed the government, for the purposes of impeachments, special investigations and to protect its leader from legal prosecution,” the president said.
The South Korean parliament has been placed under seal according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. And helicopters landed on its roof in Seoul, according to live footage broadcast by television channels.
“Forces hostile to the State”
The president's surprise intervention comes as the People Power Party continues to battle with the main opposition Democratic Party over next year's proposed budget.
Opposition MPs approved a significantly reduced budget program last week through a committee.
“Our National Assembly has become a haven of criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the administrative and judicial systems and overthrow our liberal democratic order,” Yoon Suk-yeol said.
He accused the elected representatives of the opposition of cutting “all budgets essential to the primary functions of the nation which are the fight against drug-related crimes and the maintenance of public security (…) transforming the country into a a drug haven and a place of chaos for public safety.”
Yoon Suk-yeol went on to call the opposition, which holds a majority in Parliament, “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime.” He assured that his decision was “inevitable”.
“I will restore normalcy to the country by getting rid of these anti-state forces as soon as possible,” added the South Korean president.
