Ministry of National Defense All-Army Commanders Meeting... All-Army Emergency Alert

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the Ministry of National Defense announced that Minister Kim Yong-hyun held a meeting with key commanders of the entire military and issued orders to strengthen emergency vigilance and readiness across all forces. On the same day, President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law. It is known that the martial law was proposed to President Yoon by Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

Yonhap News

Currently, the military has instructed commanders at the battalion level and above to be on emergency standby. All Ministry of National Defense staff have also been ordered to report to work. Most of the air power, including fighter jets, are reportedly already deployed on emergency standby, conducting air surveillance and patrol missions.

At around 10:40 PM on the 3rd, the Ministry of National Defense sent a text message notification to the press corps stating, "Minister Kim Yong-hyun is holding a meeting with key commanders of the entire military," and "has ordered the strengthening of emergency vigilance and readiness across all forces." Accordingly, all military commanders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo, Ground Operations Commander, 2nd Operations Commander, and Capital Defense Commander, reported to work late that night and entered a state of alert.

The martial law commander was appointed as Army General Park An-soo, Chief of Staff of the Army. Although the Joint Chiefs of Staff was expected to handle martial law duties and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was anticipated to serve as commander, the Army Chief of Staff was appointed instead. Commander Park An-soo issued the "Martial Law Command Proclamation (No. 1)," which includes prohibitions such as banning all political activities in the National Assembly and local councils.

Through Proclamation No. 1, the Martial Law Command announced six measures: △ prohibition of all political activities including those by the National Assembly, local councils, political parties, political organizations, assemblies, and demonstrations △ prohibition of any acts denying the liberal democratic system or attempting to overthrow it, including fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false incitement △ control of all media and publications by the Martial Law Command △ prohibition of strikes, work stoppages, and assemblies that incite social disorder △ requirement for all medical personnel, including interns on strike or absent from medical sites, to return to their duties within 48 hours and perform faithfully (violators subject to punishment under martial law) △ measures to minimize inconvenience to law-abiding citizens excluding anti-state and subversive forces. Furthermore, violators of the proclamation will be subject to arrest, detention, and search without a warrant under Article 9 (Special Measures by Martial Law Commander) of the Republic of Korea Martial Law Act, and punished under Article 14 (Penalties) of the same law.

The proclamation took effect immediately. The declaration of emergency martial law is the first in 44 years since the martial law imposed by the new military regime under Chun Doo-hwan in 1980.