A day of chaos in Seoul, with President Yoon Suk-yeol first declaring martial law and then backtracking a few hours later in the face of street protests and unanimous opposition from Parliament. As well as, probably, pressure from the American ally. South Korea had once again plunged into the sinister atmosphere of the military in the streets when Yoon, in a surprising and unexpected evening address to the nation, had proclaimed the emergency law accusing the Parliament, controlled by the opposition, of sympathizing with the communist North and of deliberately paralyzing the government's action .
"I will eradicate the pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order," the president announced, inviting citizens to endure "some inconveniences" for the sake of national stability: "Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea." A shock for a country that had barely emerged from the dark and bloody years of military dictatorship with the celebration of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul , but which then managed to impose the soft power of its dynamic democratic model on the world with the irresistible K-pop (at the top of Billboard), Oscar-winning films ('Parasite', the first foreign film to win the general competition) and most recently the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to writer Han Kang.
The reaction was not long in coming: thousands of people immediately demonstrated around the National Assembly , resisting the entry of troops with clashes. The Parliament in Seoul unanimously rejected martial law with a resolution calling for its "immediate abolition", approved by 190 of the 300 deputies present. A vote that pushed the troops to leave the building and launched the challenge to the head of the army Park An-su, who, as soon as he was appointed commander of martial law, issued a decree to ban parliamentary and political party activities, abolish demonstrations and put the media under control. "Those who violate martial law may be arrested or searched without a warrant", the decree warned.
Despite months of clashes, most recently over the 2025 budget, the majority and opposition have been united in condemning the authoritarian turn . People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, the same party as President Yoon and in power, described the move as "wrong" and vowed to oppose it together with the South Korean people. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 election, labeled the martial law declaration as illegal and unconstitutional, saying he was confident that "Yoon Suk-yeol will no longer be president of South Korea." Opposition lawmakers approved a budget plan last week that was much smaller than the presidential wish list. “Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the judicial and administrative systems and subvert our liberal democratic order,” Yoon charged, wearing a Donald Trump-style red tie.
The turning point came during the night, with Yoon announcing the lifting of martial law after Parliament voted against it, the withdrawal of the military from the streets and the protesters celebrating in the square . It remains to be seen what Yoon's fate will be: it is unthinkable, after today, that he will continue to be president as if nothing had happened. Especially since at a global level he had opened up very dangerous scenarios. Kim Jong-un's North Korea, which has formed an axis with Vladimir Putin's Russia as well as being a historic ally of Beijing, is a factor of strong instability in the area and could have taken advantage of the chaos by opening a third war front, this time in Asia. American President Joe Biden, informed of the events during his visit to Angola, had said he was seriously concerned, for once in agreement even with the Kremlin, which had spoken of an alarming situation.
(Online Union)