Civil war has descended upon South Korea this week after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, a first for the country since 1980.
The announcement came on Tuesday when Yoon issued a public statement that the immediate deployment of South Korea's military to the streets was necessary "to protect liberal democracy from the threat of overthrowing the regime of the Republic of Korea by anti-state forces within the Republic of Korea and to protect the safety of the people."
"All political activities" were temporarily restricted, including all political parties, rallies, and even the National Assembly (similar to the U.S. Congress) itself. All "fake news" was prohibited as well with the South Korean military having been given the green light to do whatever is necessary to preserve "liberal democracy."
(Related: Back in early fall, South Korea told the world that North Korea would join Russia in fighting Ukraine starting on November 1 of this year.)
National Assembly's vote to end martial law denied
Reports outline the following six changes that were made on Dec. 3, 2024, in South Korea as part of Yoon's martial law declaration:
1) All political activities of any kind are banned
2) All acts "that deny or attempt to overthrow" the status quo are prohibited
3) All media and publications must submit to the control of the Martial Law Command
4) All strikes, rallies, and work stoppages and protests are prohibited
5) All medical doctors, including trainee physicians, who are currently on strike or who have left the medical field have to return to their jobs within 48 hours and "work faithfully"
"Those who violate will be punished in accordance with the Martial Law," the declaration states.
6) All "innocent" and "ordinary citizens" in South Korea are subject to strict measures that will "minimize inconvenience in their daily lives," save for anti-state forces and other subversive forces whose lives are to get more difficult.
"Violators of the above proclamation may be arrested, detained, and searched without a warrant in accordance with Article 9 of the Martial Law Act of the Republic of Korea (Special Measures Authority of the Martial Law Commander), and will be punished in accordance with Article 14 of the Martial Law Act (Penalties)," the announcement, made by Martial Law Commander and Army General Park An-su.
Within a day, the National Assembly voted down the martial law declaration, this being the only legal means through which to end it. There was chaos for about 24 hours, and now things are reportedly back to normal – though Dominic Michael Tripi (@DMichaelTripi) on X / Twitter had this to say about why martial law is technically still in place in South Korea:
"Martial law is to remain in place as the votes casted to reverse the decision were invalid as the National Assembly was not allowed to meet during martial law period."
This was confirmed by The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief Michelle Ye Hee Lee who revealed that only Yoon can lift the martial law declaration despite the parliament's vote against it.
"'Democracy' has the most fluid definition these days," wrote another on X / Twitter.
"A coup attempt," suggested another about what might be happening behind the scenes. "The Parliament unanimously opposed, but will it be successful?"
Another wrote that there is no apparent threat in play, at least as far as the general public is privy to the matter, that warrants Yoon declaring martial law like this.
"I did not see any description of a great threat so it sounds like a fake threat," this person lyrically rhymed.
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