What to know about martial law declared and then overturned by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol

A person watches a TV screen broadcasting a news report on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law and the following announcement that he will lift the martial law, after parliamentary vote, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea on December 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Troops surround South Korea’s parliament overnight after the president declares martial law. He accuses pro-North Korean forces of plotting to overthrow one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. Lawmakers voice outrage and hastily vote to end the declaration in an early-morning session.

Confusion, rumour and fear were spreading through South Korea before dawn Wednesday (December 4, 2024) after the sudden edict by President Yoon Suk Yeol, the first martial law since more than four decades ago when the country was controlled by a dictatorship.

The declaration and a rushed vote by lawmakers to overturn it were moments of high drama for an unpopular leader who has struggled with political deadlock in an opposition-dominated parliament and scandals involving him and his wife.

Why was martial law declared?

While there was no direct evidence presented, Mr. Yoon raised the spectre of North Korea as a destabilising force. Mr. Yoon has long maintained that a hard line against the North is the only way to stop Pyongyang from following through on its nuclear threats against Seoul.

Amid the surreal scenes of troops massing around parliament, here are some things to know as this story unfolds:

The ‘anti-state’ plot

Immediately after Mr. Yoon’s declaration the military chief called in key commanders for talks. South Korean troops set up barricades and then made their way into parliament. The leader of the main opposition, which controls parliament, ordered lawmakers to return to the building, where they eventually voted to lift the declaration of martial law.

South Korean lawmakers submit a impeachment motion of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on December 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

But there were far more questions than answers as the uncertainty stretched into the early morning hours.

Mr. Yoon’s declaration of an emergency martial law was accompanied by an accusation that the opposition was engaged in “anti-state activities plotting rebellion.” But he did not explain what that means and provided no specific evidence.

The vague statement is reminiscent of the heavy-handed tactics of the South Korean dictatorships that ended in the late 1980s. A series of strongmen repeatedly invoked North Korea when struggling to control domestic dissidents and political opponents.

Lawmakers from both sides voice opposition

The opposition lambasted Mr. Yoon’s move as un-democratic. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Mr. Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Mr. Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”

A man speaks to police officers outside the National Assembly, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, in Seoul, South Korea on December 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

But the sudden declaration was also opposed by the leader of Mr. Yoon’s own conservative party, Han Dong-hoon, who called the decision “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.”

“The people will block the president’s anti-constitutional step. The military must be on the side of the public in any case. Let’s resolutely oppose it,” Kim Dong Yeon, the opposition party governor of Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, wrote on X.

Average South Koreans were in shock. Social media was flooded with messages expressing surprise and worry over Mr. Yoon’s announcement.

“Martial law? I thought it was deepfake content but is it really a martial law decree?” one X user wrote.

“I first thought about a war with North Korea when he said he would impose a martial law,” another X user wrote.

Yoon is struggling politically

There were quick claims that the emergency declaration was linked to Mr. Yoon’s political struggles.

His approval rating has dropped, and he has had little success in getting his policies adopted by a parliament that has been controlled by the opposition since he took over in 2022.

Conservatives have said the opposition moves are political revenge for investigations into the opposition leader, who is seen as the favourite for the next presidential election in 2027.

Just this month, Mr. Yoon denied wrongdoing in an influence-peddling scandal involving him and his wife. The claims have battered his approval ratings and fuelled attacks by his rivals.

The scandal centres on claims that Mr. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee exerted inappropriate influence on the conservative ruling People Power Party to pick a certain candidate to run for a parliamentary by-election in 2022 at the request of Myung Tae-kyun, an election broker and founder of a polling agency who conducted free opinion surveys for Mr. Yoon before he became president.

Yoon has said he did nothing inappropriate.

Martial law is extremely sensitive in South Korea

South Korea became a democracy only in the late 1980s, and military intervention in civilian affairs is still a touchy subject.

During the dictatorships that emerged as the country rebuilt from the destruction of the 1950-53 Korean War, leaders occasionally proclaimed martial law that allowed them to station combat soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles on streets or in public places to prevent anti-government demonstrations.

Such scenes are unimaginable for many today.

The dictator Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea for nearly 20 years before he was assassinated by his spy chief in 1979, led several thousand troops into Seoul in the early hours of May 16, 1961, in the country’s first successful coup. During his rule, he occasionally proclaimed martial law to crack down on protests and jail critics.

Less than two months after Park Chung-hee’s death, Maj Gen Chun Doo-hwan led tanks and troops into Seoul in December 1979 in the country’s second successful coup. The next year, he orchestrated a brutal military crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju, killing at least 200 people.

In the summer of 1987, massive street protests forced Chun’s government to accept direct presidential elections. His army buddy Roh Tae-woo, who had joined Chun’s 1979 coup, won the election held later in 1987 thanks largely to divided votes among liberal opposition candidates.