South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law

Yoon declared the “emergency martial law,” accusing the opposition of sympathizing with North Korea. He said the measure was “to safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced an “emergency martial law” on Tuesday accusing the country’s opposition of ruling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government with anti-state actions.

Yoon declared the step as critical for defending the country’s constitutional order.

“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a televised address.

Opposition able to thwart Yoon due to parliamentary majority

The opposition Democratic Party has a majority in parliament and is therefore able to thwart Yoon’s plans for next year’s budget in South Korea.

Opposition lawmakers last week gave the go-ahead to a downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

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

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.”

Yoon says the opposition is ‘anti-state’ and wants to ‘overthrow regime’

Yoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a parliamentary majority, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” and described his decision to impose martial law as “inevitable.”

Meanwhile, the president has also been dismissing calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, attracting stinging rebukes from his political rivals.

Yoon took office in 2022 but has seen his approval rating dip in recent months.