A night view of the South Korean capital, Seoul. Picture: stock
South Korea was plunged into political chaos after President Yoon Suk Yeol tried and fail to declare martial law overnight.
The president shocked the country by imposing martial law which led to soldiers and protests in the streets before a late night vote in parliament overturned his declaration six hours later.
The UK’s Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West, says they are “deeply concerned” by the turmoil.
“Our embassy in Seoul continues to monitor developments and is in touch with the Korean authorities,” she says.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed news of the South Korean parliament’s decision to vote down the president.
“We welcome President Yoon’s statement that he would rescind the order declaring emergency martial law in accordance with the ROK Constitution after the National Assembly’s unanimous vote to reject the declaration,” he says.
“We continue to expect political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.”
A US Defence Department spokesman says they are closely monitoring the situation in case North Korea tries to exploit the situation.
Senior aides to the president have reportedly offered to step down en masse as the opposition called for the president’s resignation, the Korean Yonhap news agency reports.
DILEMMA
Monash University media studies professor Gil-Soo Han says the attempt was not a surprise.
“The president has been in conflict with parliament for months, using his veto to stop bills and struggled to get his own bills through,” Prof Han says.
“He has finally been pushed into a corner over the corruption allegations involving him and his wife.”
Prof. Han doesn’t believe the president will go willingly or easily.
“Although there are enough reasons to impeach him, it will be difficult because the opposition is eight seats short of the 200 required to win a motion in parliament,” he says.
Monash associate professor Andrew David Jackson (Korean Studies) says the incident is a “worrying flashback” to the country’s 30-year-long military dictatorship.
“Yoon’s justification for introducing martial law is very similar to General Chun Doo Hwan’s justification for extending martial law in May 1980, which led to a further seven years of authoritarian rule,” he says.
“These historical parallels will not go down well with a lot of South Koreans – whether they are progressive or conservative.”
