South Korea declares martial law

The Telegraph: The South Korean president has declared emergency martial law, citing North Korean threats and domestic “anti-state forces”.

In a televised address to the nation, Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order”.

He said the opposition’s impeachment attempts and budget cuts had paralysed the government, but promised swift action to “rebuild and protect” the country.

Martial law normally means government by military rule and the suspension of parliament and ordinary law.

The South Korean military has said parliamentary activities are banned, and is understood to have blocked the entrance to the National Assembly. Videos have shown riot police pushing people back from the entrance to the parliament building in Seoul.

The surprise declaration comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to bicker over next year’s budget bill.

Last week, opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” said Mr Yoon.

Buses block the entrance to the National Assembly in Seoul - X

The president accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combating drug crimes and maintaining public security... turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”

He went on to describe the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” and said his martial law decision was “inevitable”.

“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible,” he said.

The president has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into several scandals involving his wife.

One allegation was that he and Kim Keon-hee, the first lady, exerted inappropriate influence on the selection of a People Power Party by-election candidate in 2022.

Another involved spy camera footage that purportedly showed the first lady accepting a luxury Dior bag as a gift from a pastor.

An armoured vehicle in Seoul in an unverified image posted on social media

Martial law is typically brought in after emergencies such as a foreign invasion or a natural disaster.

It is not the first time it has been declared in South Korea, which alternated between liberal democracy and military dictatorship throughout the second half of the 20th century.

The measure was imposed after coup d’etat attempts in the 1960s and 70s, as well as in response to student protests in 1964 and 1979. It was also brought in after the assassination of Park Chung-hee, the president, in 1979.