SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday (Dec 3) declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television.
Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard free and constitutional order, saying opposition parties have taken hostage of the parliamentary process to throw the country into a crisis.
He also accused the opposition Democratic Party of anti-state activities and said the government administration has been paralysed because of its conduct.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said.
He did not say in the address what specific measures would be taken.
Yoon cited a motion by the Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, to impeach some of the country’s top prosecutors and its rejection of a government budget proposal.
The president’s conservative People Power Party had been locked in an impasse with the Democratic Party over next year’s budget Bill.
He has also been dismissing calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.
Yoon also accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combatting drug crimes and maintaining public security … turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”
The president – whose approval rating has dipped in recent months – has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.
Source: CNA
