South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid escalating tensions over a budget bill in parliament. In a live televised address on Tuesday, Yoon emphasized the need to protect a liberal South Korea from perceived threats, particularly from North Korea.
“For the purpose of protecting liberal South Korea from the threat of the communist forces of North Korea, and for the elimination of anti-state elements that are looting people’s freedom and happiness, I am proclaiming emergency martial law,” he declared.
The declaration follows a series of clashes between Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget. Last week, opposition lawmakers approved a drastically slashed budget plan, cutting around 4.1 trillion won, about $2.8 billion, from Yoon’s proposed 677 trillion won budget. The cut has affected important government functions, such as the reserve fund and budgets for the prosecution, police, and state audit agency.
Yoon berated the National Assembly as having become “a haven for criminals” and a “den of legislative dictatorship” that threatens judicial and administrative orders in this nation. The president, formerly a prosecutor, further accused opposition lawmakers of impeding budgets critical to securing public safety and tackling drug-related crime, and thus turning the country into a “drug haven.”
Labeling the opposition as “anti-state forces,” Yoon described the imposition of martial law as necessary to ensure the continuity of a liberal South Korea. He reassured the public that foreign policy would not be affected by this measure and expressed determination for the restoration of normalcy by addressing what he termed “anti-state forces.”
Following the martial law, all military units in South Korea — which is technically still at war with North Korea — have been ordered to raise their state of emergency alert and readiness. Media reports say the National Assembly entrance has been sealed, denying MPs entry into the building.
The unprecedented move comes as Yoon’s approval rating has plummeted to 19 percent, according to a recent Gallup poll, amid widespread dissatisfaction with his economic management and a string of controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
