Iron Grip of Power : South Korea Descends Into Chaos Under President's Martial Law

Back in December 2023, South Korea found itself in the grip of increasing chaos as the president's imposition of martial law exerted tighter control over the country, sparked massive public outrage, paralyzed government institutions, and drew intense criticism from both domestic and international observers who were concerned with the erosion of democratic principles. 

Martial Law is a security strategy resorted to by a country that is considered to be in a state of emergency, the enforcement of martial law means that the military authorities take control over the civilian government. It is usually invoked when a country is facing a severe threat to national security or other crises which cannot be dealt with by regular civilian authorities. The 2024 martial law declaration was the first in South Korea since the 1980s, which was declared by General Chun Doo-hwan due to the military dictatorship that occurred after the murder of President Park Shung-hee.

 

On December 3, 2024, the public was shocked by the news that South Korea had been declared martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol on national television, he accused the opposition side, the Democratic Party of collaborating with North Korean forces and has engaged in activities that are considered "anti-state", for this reason, he emphasized that the martial law was necessary in order to defend as he said "free Republic of Korea" from what he described as the collapse caused by domestic dissent and external threats. 

In response to the Declaration, South Korea's military forces were rapidly deployed to designated locations surrounding the parliament building. This action aims to assert control and prevent public assemblies. Under martial law, all media were placed under government control, limiting the media's independence, to manage both public perception and to prevent information that could fuel further protests.

The lawmaker's and public's response to this event

The 2024 declaration of martial law invoked the public's outrage and immediately met with intense fierce backlash from South Korea's lawmakers. Citizens viewed this as an act of abuse of power and an attack on the democracy of South Korea. Mi-rye, 64 years old in an interview for CNN during a protest against the enactment of 2024 martial law described the past regimes as ones that kidnapped people and denied people the right to their own freedom. She even said that the government has a curfew policy and if anyone caught violating it they would be kidnapped and taken to Samcheong re-education camp. Mi-Rye said that the living conditions under the previous regime had undercover officers that would be stationed everywhere with the task of arresting people who were caught violating this human rights-violating regulation. Under the old regime's rule, whoever opposed was arrested, universities were shut down, no political activities, and the press was restrained. 

South Korea's citizens enraged by Yoon's decision to declare martial law (Source: Dailymail)

The declaration of martial law also surprised and enraged the lawmakers. Many lawmakers, with the majority of them coming from the opposition party of the Democratic Party have labeled the martial law declaration "unconstitutional". They commented that Yoon's decision was a clear abuse of presidential authority and also challenged democracy. Just as what the public saw it as somewhat a reminiscent of authoritarian policies from the old South Korea's regime. This event took everyone by surprise, including the members that come from the conservative People's Power Party led by Mr. President Yoon himself, they stated that they disagreed with what happened. The disagreement that came from Mr. Yoon's own party indicates that there is a significant amount of different opinion in the ruling alliance. Woo Won Shik as the National Assembly Speaker argues that the role of the parliamentarian members in protecting democracy and also committed to ensuring such acts would not undermine the civil freedoms of democratic governance. Within hours after martial law was enforced, 190 from a total of 300 members of the National Assembly gathered to vote to lift the martial law. This event has sparked discussion for the impeachment of President Yoon.

South Korea's National Assembly voted to revoke martial law, resulting 190-0, with all members backing the decision to revoke (Source: @Smotri_media)

Yoon's impeachment vote