Yoon declares emergency martial law
Multiple media sources in South Korea and the US are reporting this:
South Korea President Yoon declares martial law
SEOUL, Dec 3 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television, claiming he would eradicate "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces".
It is the first time since 1980 that martial law was declared in South Korea.
Yonhap news agency cited the military as saying activities by parliament and political parties would be banned, and that media and publishers would be under the control of the martial law command.
Computer translation of Chosun Ilbo report:
President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law in an emergency speech late at night on the 3rd.
The basis for martial law is Article 77, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. It states that when it is necessary to respond to military needs or maintain public peace and order by mobilizing the military during times of war, incident, or other similar national emergency, the President may declare martial law as prescribed by law.
When martial law is declared, the warrant system and freedom of speech, publication, assembly, and association may be restricted in accordance with the relevant laws. Article 77 of the Constitution states that when the President declares martial law, he must notify the National Assembly without delay. If the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law with the consent of a majority of its members, the President must lift the martial law he has declared.
I've been posting Yoon Seok-yeol's flagrant disregard for the law, both as proseccutor general and President of South Korea for years. The predictions of martial law have come true. He has publicly admired dictators, abused his authority, rewritten official history, empowered the corruption of his family and their cronies, brought discredit on the law and the justice system of South Korea for years. Yoon had consistently referred to political opposition and critics in media, as "state enemies," while South Korean and US media lauded him and ignored all the signs of his increasingly authoritarian rule.
One of my essays here on Sept 2 explained how the plans for martial law were taking shape:
Kanto massacre, historical denial; will martial law return to South Korea?
Comments
I was hoping
that you would cover this. It seems that things are reaching a breaking point, after the mass protests. Would you care to speculate a bit about the end game here? The situation is clearly not sustainable...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
It's hard to predict UFS
Chosun Ilbo refers to National Assembly approval authority. So I'll be interested to see, if the opposition members in the assembly are permitted to assemble there or if the military or police forces interfere. There is no way the National Assembly would approve. I think they are the target. Yoon has vetoed their legislation 25 times so far, more than any other president, I think. This is what former president Moon Jae-in is referring to in his tweet.
A couple of things triggered this, I think. First, there was widespread speculation on whether Han Dong-hun would lead at least 8 members of the PPP (conservative party) to cooperate with the democratic opposition to overcome Yoon's vetoes of legislation aimed at investigating his wife's corruption, and the corruption of prosecutors who gave her nolle prosse determinations rather than referring accusations against her to trial. This is equivalent to declaring her "bullet proof" because she's the president's wife. Ultimately if this succeeded, her interference in government would come under investigation. Specifically, she may have interfered in the Cpl Chae investigation, and also interfered in PPP nomination processes.
Also, the opposition proposed a constitutional amendment to shorten the presidential term of office to three years specifically for Yoon to get him out of office before the end of his term. This was floated as a less traumatic method than the impeachment process.
Third, opposition in the streets to Yoon and the first lady, has reached the 100 thousand level according to supporters. A large demonstration also took place in Taegu last weekend as well, which is a noted conservative stronghold, which was considered an ominous sign for Yoon's administration. How long will it be before some conservatives want to divorce themselves from association with Yoon?
Guess we'll see what happens.
語必忠信 行必正直
Former president Moon Jae-in
Translated from Korean by (X)?
Don't understand why Moon speaks in the passive voice. I noticed the first response 2 minutes later noted that Moon failed in his responsibility when he appointed this corrupt thug Prosecutor General of South Korea. That's what empowered him.
語必忠信 行必正直
"shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces".
"pro-North Korean"?
Is something lost in translation? Otherwise, this sounds like American political gibberish -- akin to RFK Jr. is "anti-science."
Is this a great century or what?
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
the desperate final phase of a failing regime
.
democracy went out the window awhile back
civil war may be the push-back? those well
behaved protesters may turn more virulent in
response. power corrupts .. people rebel
thanks for the update!
Civilians in South Korea do not have firearms.
Correct me if I'm wrong. Civil War is unlikely in the classical sense.
Sabotage is the alternate strategy, which is slow and messy.
you are probably correct
.
insofar as a not a weaponized revolt
so much as a social rebellion
my hope is it does not get violent
perhaps mass pressure will work?
By the way
Has the Sleepy Joe Government had anything to say about this suspension of democracy? Supposedly we are aiding Ukraine to save democracy from Putin.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
more to the tune of democracy is disposable
.
if the enemy is China, vassals are encouraged
to behave in dictatorial mode
screw the peeps
big mistake
Thanks for the info, Soryang. Looks like the shit hs hit the
fan. Any idea what the National Assembly will do?
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Not sure
I tried to answer this in my reply to UFS above. Will the National Assembly be allowed to convene? Will opposition members be blocked? I'm sure these maneuvers are already planned by the coup plotters.
語必忠信 行必正直
Apparently, enough members
made it into Parliament to establish a quorum, and voted successfully to lift the martial law declaration. At this point, they probably have no remaining alternative but to swing straight into impeachment proceedings...
https://x.com/TabZLIVE/status/1863978739010335073
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
That's great news
Thanks for the update UFS. Yoon is off to be bad start here. Good!
語必忠信 行必正直
Reunification
with the North is against the rules based order. s/
Would love to see a "one" Korea.
But a peaceful two state solution would be tolerable.
Thanks for keeping us in the know.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
MBC live reporting indicates
...that the nominal PPP leader Han Dong-hun opposes the martial law announcement and supports the Assembly's decision to oppose it. The Assembly ordered Yoon to withdraw the martial law announcement. They noted there was no constitutional grounds for martial law. So far nothing has been heard from the presidential office, which appears to be surrounded by soldiers in combat fatigues, carrying rifles, in full combat gear. They are restricting reporter access to the presidential office building.
MBC also reported that the Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, another influential member of the PPP party opposes the martial law announcement. Members of the small conservative Reform Party also indicated that they were opposed to the martial law announcement from the president, that it was illegal, etc. There are calls for Yoon to step down, be arrested, etc.
語必忠信 行必正直
MBC says Assembly leadership arrested
... Lee Jae-myung Democratic leader, Han Dong-hun, PPP (conservative leader) same party as Yoon, and Woo Won-shik, the Speaker reportedly arrested by soldiers who broke into the National Assembly building and reportedly also entered Lee Jae-myung's office to arrest him. MBC cites the Democratic Party as the source. An official spokesperson for the Democratic Party confirmed this illegal violation of the National Assembly and the arrests.
The crowd outside the National Assembly is being surrounded by police. The soldiers present there earlier reportedly have withdrawn.
語必忠信 行必正直
Does that mean that
the military and police are Yoon's primary support base (all of whatever his single digit approval rating is)? If so, "emergency martial law" will need to be replaced by a more appropriate word.
There are elements of the military
...that are necessary to control Seoul, access to public buildings, particularly the National Defense Building, the Presidential Office building and the National Assembly building. I outlined these in my Sept 3 (correction) discussion of a potential coup being revealed by a hearing into Yoon's appointed of the new defense minister at that time. It was the Defense Ministers former command of these units that raised suspicion in the context of other appointments that had occurred earlier in Yoon's administration.
So I think the agencies would be the Capital City Defense Command, the Presidential Security Service, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Order. The new Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, formerly commanded the first two commands. He attended the same high school as Yoon. He replaced Shin Won-sik, as defense minister, who went to become the National Security Advisor to Yoon. According to the analysis provided in the press at the time, Kim appointed his cronies to command the necessary military commands to control Seoul militarily. The director of NIS and the top echelon of managers there are Yoon loyalists. As I recall the Minister of Infrastructure and Public Order, a Kim Gon-hee crony, was given control of the National Police unlawfully a couple of years back if memory serves. The police themselves appeared somewhat unprepared for the martial law announcement but seemed to be following orders surrounding the crowds in front of the key government buildings in Yongsan and Yeouido while the soldiers armed in combat gear seemed to be defending the inner ring of those buildings while military helicopters hovered overhead. This is my best guesstimate of the situation. MBC said 50 percent of police forces were mobilized after they became aware of the martial law announcement.
語必忠信 行必正直
The other two military commands were
...the Special Forces Command and the Counter Intelligence Command. I heard one observer say the soldiers who forced their way into the National Assembly building were special forces.
語必忠信 行必正直
Unlikely that Yoon can be trusted but there is this!
Okay, it looks like I misinterpreted the live MBC reports
So the violent break in by soldiers into the National Assembly building were only attempts to arrest the national political leadership of both parties and the Assembly Speaker. The break in was recorded on video, and the "attempts" to take them into custody were recorded as well according to the spokesperson. This was a very confused situation. The timing of the events must have been different as well.
語必忠信 行必正直
Any idea of crowd size?
MSM here is mostly showing crowds of armed forces.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Crowd size was relatively small
I'm thinking in the hundreds. They collected in front of the Assembly Building in Yeouido, and in front of the Presidential Office and the National Defense building on Itaewon no in Yongsan. Lee Jae-myung had asked for them to assemble in front of the National Assembly building when he was on he way there after he heard Yoon's announcement of martial law. There were quite a few reporters there as well trying to determine what was going on. It was six hours later approximately when Yoon called off the soldiers, and withdrew the martial law announcement at the legislatures demand. Yoon's in deep doo doo now. So are his defense minister and whatever subordinate commanders went along with this hare brained scheme.
語必忠信 行必正直
Surely, the US has a designated back-up stooge
.
....and alternates waiting in the wings. South Korea seems to be purposed as a strategic land base and nuclear deterrent in the United State's upcoming war on China. SK's participation is not optional. Nor is the war with China negotiable. The US war objective is to physically narrow China's future trading and shipping capacity, more or less permanently. In other words, blow up the trains and wipe out all that impressive infrastructure that China built, including the BRI. (The secret hope of the US is that the devastation and adversity they deliver will make the Chinese people turn against communism.)
My impression has been that land-based South Korea is essential to the success of the US offensive, in part because US war ships and aircraft carriers are vulnerable to China's advanced weapons systems. (So is South Korea, for that matter.) Ideally, South Korea would maintain war neutrality. Is that even possible? I would imagine that getting rid of Yoon is very unpopular with the unelected Neocon Zionists who now control US foreign affairs. Americans have no way to get rid of them. Democracy can't touch them.
Han Dong-hun made the most of this
He's no better than Yoon really, but this situation just provided him with the ideal opportunity to pose as the ethical conservative/reasonable politician repudiating the martial law announcement and saying he respected the decision of the legislature. He had been trying to dissociate himself from Yoon and Kim Gon-hee lately, to cultivate his own prospects for presidential office. This is all a charade, but I think it would appeal to the US national security sector. I've suspected he has some kind of ties of a covert nature to the US establishment anyway. Just the fact, that he served as Justice Minister and then PPP party leader, shows he was being cultivated for greater things.
Because of its geographical position South Korea has always tried to accommodate China in particular until the end of the Lee Dynasty when Japan came out on top in 1895. I think Koreans that support Lee are aware of a need to accommodate China and Russia and try to steer a middle course in order to avoid unnecessary security risks. Yoon and his dumb ass "new right" generals just don't get this. The old folks that provided a major part of his support, just have difficulty seeing beyond the Korean War paradigm which is actually a destructive paradigm. The legacy pro-Japanese elites in South Korea go for this as well.
語必忠信 行必正直
More on the "backup stooge"
I posted this on my blog as part of my essay on US Ambassador Goldberg's meeting with Lee Jae-myung a couple of months ago. I think it provides insight on who the stooge might be. "Lock step, baby!":
Ambassador Goldberg prior meeting a week earlier with PPP Leader Han Dong-hun. Notice the difference?
Anyone who thinks Han Dong-hun takes constitutional principles or rule of law seriously is suffering from delusions. Notice the difference between this meeting and Goldberg's later meeting with Lee Jae-myung (above), the opposition leader who has been prosecuted repeatedly by Yoon and this man for years. Han and Goldberg "shared many conversations" when Han was minister of justice? Why? Why does that not surprise me? Why did the translator change Han's admission to "well actually we met once before" in English? She didn't translate what he actually said. Assembly Member In Yo-han PPP aka John Linton, the "white" Korean missionary/doctor was Goldberg's physician? In a longer video near the end, Han jokes in English, that "he didn't know" In Yo-han/John Linton could speak English. At the outset, Han also joked about Goldberg being a Red Sox fan, implying that they have a difference of opinion on this. So they are all buddies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1kPJ524L4k (the longer video)
The banner on the wall says "Reduce the differences, widen the opportunities." Surprised they didn't adopt the "lock step, no daylight" slogan. Goldberg emphasizes the long friendship and shared values. Most of the US- South Korea relationship, up to 1987, was basically the US supporting oppressive dictatorships. Yoon's is now up to 24 vetoes* of legislation. Democracy? Rule of law? Justice? LOL.
The Yoon/Han clique of corrupt prosecutors, abusing their powers giving the ROK the name "dictatorship of prosecutors," just requested that Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung receive 4 years in prison on a conviction obtained with fabricated evidence. To counter the appearance of tens of thousands of demonstrators against Yoon, over the weekend, Yoon will bring out 5000 plus troops for the Armed Forces Day parade at the cost of millions of dollars giving his administration the authoritarian aura that suits it so well. Ironically this will occur on the same day as China's National Foundation Day celebration.
語必忠信 行必正直
Not exactly sure when this occured but the tweet is recent.
Ignore the first part.
The rest of the tweet:
Han Dong-hun announced three proposals
...that were reported on a youtube video three hours ago. These proposals were announced after a meeting of the emergency committee of the PPP (conservative party)(aka gukhimeuidang). Han Dong-hun is the party leader (te pyo).
1. The cabinet must resign
2. The defense minister must resign. Other responsible military officers will be subject to an inquiry.
3. The president must leave the party.
The first two proposals were agreed to according to Han. The third proposal was subject to dispute in the committee. Han and the party floor leader deferred on questions about the Democratic Party's statements that Yoon was to be impeached and that the committee would deliberate on the issue at a later meeting.
語必忠信 行必正直