South Korean democracy refused to be defeated. In the middle of the night from Tuesday December 3 to Wednesday December 4, 190 deputies from the majority and the opposition, supported by an angry crowd, gathered in front of a National Assembly surrounded by police and soldiers, unanimously rejected the martial law declared a few hours earlier by the conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol. Mr. Yoon accepted the decision and pitifully ended his attempted coup, which saw South Korea return for a few hours to the nightmare of the days of dictatorships, which it believed had passed for almost forty years.
The last time martial law was imposed was in 1980 in Gwangju (South). On the orders of authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan (1980-1987), the paratroopers violently repressed a pro-democracy movement. The operation left hundreds dead.
Admitting defeat, Mr. Yoon reiterated his call for the National Assembly to end the activities “scandalous” which he says are paralyzing government functions. The president, faced with demonstrations, is now threatened with dismissal. His top aides, including his chief of staff, Chung Jin-suk, and his national security adviser, Shin Won-sik, have resigned. The general staff sent the troops back to their barracks.
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The rule of law prevailed and the affair ended, without major incident, after six hours of high tensions in the South Korean capital. “We are relieved that President Yoon retracted his statement and respected the National Assembly's voteWashington reacted. Democracy is the foundation of the alliance between the United States and South Korea, and we will continue to monitor developments. »
Live ammunition
Mr. Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday, December 3 at 10:25 p.m. from the presidential office in Yongsan district, Seoul. “The Republic of Korea [nom officiel de la Corée du Sud] is like a candle in the wind; it can turn off at any time. I declare martial law to protect it from threats by North Korean communist forces, to eradicate pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are brazenly destroying the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect our free constitutional order.”he justified. He criticized the parliamentary opposition for opposing his draft budget and for having voted to dismiss the director of the Audit and Inspection Council.
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