Update followsGovernment crisis in South Korea –
Accusations against opposition: President declares martial law
In the unexpected televised address to the nation, Yoon Suk Yeol accused the opposition of sympathizing with North Korea. Parliament was locked down.
Published today at 3:07 p.m
President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an unannounced televised address to the nation – and made serious accusations against the opposition.
Foto: Kim Hong-Ji (Keystone)
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South Korea’s head of state Yoon Suk Yeol has declared martial law with the opposition amid a dispute over the state budget and justified the measure with protection from North Korea. “In order to protect a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist troops and to eliminate anti-state elements (…), I hereby declare martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address on Tuesday. The opposition “paralyzed” the government without any consideration for the “subsistence” of the population.
Yoon took the measure amid a dispute between his party and the largest opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. The opposition MPs, who have the majority in parliament, only approved a significantly slimmed-down version of the draft budget in the responsible parliamentary committee last week.
Parliament has become “a haven for criminals, a haven for a legislative dictatorship that wants to paralyze the legal and administrative system and overthrow our liberal democratic order,” said Yoon in his speech.
Army seals off parliament
He accused the opposition of cutting off funds for the state’s core tasks, such as combating drug-related crime and maintaining public order, thereby creating a “state of chaos in public security.” “I will return the country to normality by ridding it of anti-state forces as quickly as possible.”
According to a report by the Yonhap news agency, the parliament in Seoul has been sealed off. Television footage showed helicopters landing on the roof of the building in the capital. All political activities are prohibited, Yonhap reported.
South Korea has technically remained formally at war with North Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953, as the conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The two countries are separated by a demilitarized zone approximately four kilometers wide. Relations between the two countries are currently at a low point.
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