South Korea president declares emergency martial law, warns of “communist forces”

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South Korea president declares emergency martial law, warns of “********** forces”

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

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

“With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he added.

South Korea’s National Assembly was sealed Tuesday after Yoon’s declaration, the country’s Yonhap news agency reported.  Helicopters were seen landing on the roof of the building in Seoul, in live television footage aired by broadcasters.

Police stand guard in front of the main gate of the National Assembly in Seoul on December 3, 2024, after South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law. 

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images

Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to martial law, but did not say what specific measures would be taken, the BBC 

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Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “******** and unconstitutional.”  

The surprise move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to bicker over next year’s budget bill. Opposition lawmakers last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

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

Yoon – whose approval rating has dipped in recent months – has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

Yoon’s ************* People Power Party had been locked in an impasse with the ******** opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. He has also been dismissing calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.

The Democratic Party reportedly called an emergency meeting of its lawmakers following Yoon’s announcement.

Yoon accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combatting ***** ******* and maintaining public security… turning the country into a ***** haven and a state of public safety chaos.”

People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Ahn Young-joon / AP

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Yoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” and called his decision “inevitable.”

“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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