Top U.S. Ally Declares Martial Law In Stunning Development

Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, enacted a sweeping martial law on Tuesday in response to what his administration cites as “anti-state activities” that are attempting to provoke sympathy for North Korea.

The lockdown was implemented, and then rejected, by the country’s parliament, which is controlled by Yoon’s political opponents in the liberal Democratic Party. Hours after the announcement, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik fired back on live television that lawmakers “will protect democracy with the people,” The AP reported. Woo demanded that Yoon order police presence to be withdrawn from the assembly’s grounds.

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“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, according to a live broadcast obtained by Fox News. “Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin.”

“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he added, asking citizens to “tolerate inconveniences” while he works to rein in spending. Yoon referred to the country’s proposed annual budget as a “joke” on national finances being used “as a means of political strike” to weaken his bargaining position. Due to “this Democratic Party’s legislative dictatorship,” South Korea’s finances have been “paralyzed” while lawmakers are “trampling on the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea.”

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The White House did not respond to a request for comment by the outlet, but a spokesman with the National Security Council stated, “The Administration is in contact with the Republic of Korea government and is monitoring the situation closely.”

Yoon did not state what measures would be taken beyond blocking the grounds of the national assembly. Lee Jae-myung, another political opposition leader who ran against Yoon in 2022, called on citizens to come to lawmakers’ defense and reject threats of violence. “Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country,” Lee Jae-myung said in a livestream online. “The economy of the Republic of Korea will collapse irretrievably. My fellow citizens, please come to the National Assembly.”

Under South Korean law, a martial law order may be lifted by the national assembly with a majority vote, which was accomplished by the nation’s Democratic Party on Tuesday night. Woo, assembly leader, urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions” in the meantime. Han Dong-hoon, the legislative leader of Yoon’s conservative People’s Party, said the decision to implement martial law was “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.”

Yoon, a former prosecutor elected in 2022, is now in a standoff against legislative leaders from both parties. It is the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1989, the AP reported.

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