President Yoon, Why Declare Martial Law? ... Silent on National Assembly's Request for Lifting It

Criticism of Opposition's Solo Handling of Impeachment Attempt and Budget Cuts
Presidential Office Aides Do Not Respond to Reporters' Calls

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering an urgent special address to the nation on the night of the 3rd at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol's emergency declaration of 'martial law' on the 3rd has sparked a fierce backlash. The announcement was made urgently without prior notice to the presidential office staff or the press corps, drawing attention to the background of the martial law declaration.

President Yoon appears to have taken the extreme step of declaring 'martial law' because he judged that the unilateral actions of the major opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, were not only paralyzing the executive branch but also causing severe harm to the public.

In his statement the previous day, President Yoon said, "As president, I speak to the people with a heart that feels like it is bleeding," adding, "Since the inauguration of our government, the National Assembly has filed 22 impeachment motions against government officials, and since the start of the 22nd National Assembly in June, they are pushing for the impeachment of the 10th official."

He continued, "This is unprecedented anywhere in the world and has never happened since the founding of our country," criticizing, "They are paralyzing judicial work by intimidating judges and impeaching many prosecutors, and paralyzing the executive branch by attempting to impeach the Minister of the Interior and Safety, the Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, the Auditor General, and the Minister of National Defense."

President Yoon stated, "They have also cut the entire budget for essential national functions, drug crime control, and public safety maintenance, damaging the core functions of the state and turning South Korea into a drug haven and a state of public safety panic," adding, "This budget outrage is, in short, a mockery of the national finances of South Korea."

Amid growing fatigue and dissatisfaction due to the Democratic Party's repeated impeachment attempts against the Auditor General and prosecutors, the unilateral passage of budget cuts is seen as having further triggered the crisis. The presidential office expressed deep regret over the Democratic Party's unprecedented forced passage of the 'reduced budget bill' at the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Special Committee on the 29th of last month. On the 1st, the presidential office strongly criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "This is a legislative rampage followed by a budget rampage, a tyranny by the majority that ignores the people's livelihood, and the resulting damage falls squarely on the people."

In particular, since the National Assembly was scheduled to hold a plenary session on the 4th to vote on the impeachment motions against Prosecutor General Lee Chang-soo of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cho Sang-won, Anti-Corruption Investigation Department Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon, and Auditor General Choi Jae-hae, the declaration of martial law is seen as a countermeasure in response.

However, although it is clear that the minority ruling and majority opposition situation is causing difficulties in state administration, it is unlikely that there will be broad public consensus that this situation justifies the declaration of martial law.

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in an emergency statement on the night of the 3rd. In the early morning of the 4th, at the National Assembly plenary session in Yeouido, Seoul, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law with 190 members present and 190 in favor. Yonhap News

On the 4th, the National Assembly convened a plenary session around 1 a.m. and passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law. The resolution was passed with 190 votes in favor out of 190 members present.

The constitution stipulates that if a majority of the total members of the National Assembly vote in favor, the president must immediately lift martial law. However, as of 2:50 a.m., President Yoon has not announced his position on lifting martial law. Accordingly, a Ministry of National Defense official stated, "We will maintain the martial law command until President Yoon issues a lifting announcement."

Currently, the presidential office staff are not responding at all to repeated calls from the press corps, and it is known that internal discussions are ongoing regarding whether to lift martial law.

The Democratic Party plans to keep the National Assembly plenary session open without adjournment until President Yoon declares the lifting of martial law. Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the National Assembly plenary session, "We will not adjourn and will hold our ground until the president declares the lifting of martial law."