Martial law troops bowing their heads in apology: "What crime did the soldiers commit?"

"What's the soldiers' fault?" Netizens' outcry
Troops deployed for emergency martial law lifted return to base

On the night of the 3rd, President Yoon Suk-yeol held an emergency national address and declared martial law. Amid this, a young armed martial law soldier deployed to the National Assembly main building was captured bowing to citizens before withdrawing. On the 4th, reporter Heo Jae-hyun of Re:Act shared a photo of the bowed martial law soldier on Facebook. Reporter Heo began, "There was an unnamed martial law soldier who bowed his waist and said 'I'm sorry' to the citizens who had gathered in front of the National Assembly to protest today."

On the night of the 3rd, President Yoon Suk-yeol held an emergency national address and declared martial law. Amid this, a young armed martial law soldier deployed to the National Assembly main building was seen bowing to a citizen before withdrawing. On the 4th, Heo Jae-hyun, a reporter from Repoact, shared a photo of the bowed martial law soldier on Facebook. Photo by Heo Jae-hyun, Repoact reporter Facebook

He continued, "That martial law soldier looked very upright at a glance. Through his glasses, I saw clear eyes, and all my anger disappeared as I felt endless pity and gratitude at the same time." He emphasized, "In the brief moment when he bowed once, twice, and thrice while saying 'I'm sorry' to me who was chasing after him, I felt his sincerity. That sincerity seemed to say, 'We are on the same side of democracy.'"

Netizens who saw this reacted with comments such as, "What crime did the soldiers commit?", "Watching on TV yesterday, I really felt sorry for the soldiers," "I cried heavily because I was so shocked and angry," "What fault do the soldiers have? They are our sons just about twenty years old, and how bewildered and embarrassed they must have been to receive orders from their superiors to become 'martial law soldiers' that we only heard about in history class," and "Seeing the photo makes me choke up."

Earlier, at around 10:28 p.m. on the 3rd, after President Yoon declared martial law, the martial law soldiers gathered at the National Assembly and attempted to enter the main building from around midnight on the 4th. Clashes occurred as National Assembly Secretariat staff and party aides tried to block them. Some lawmakers who tried to head to the plenary hall climbed over the fence when access to the National Assembly was blocked. The aides and related personnel inside the main building barricaded the first and second floor entrances with wooden doors, large flowerpots, desks, and chairs to prevent the martial law soldiers from entering.

The aides and officials inside the main office used wooden doors, large flowerpots, desks, and chairs to block the entrances on the first and second floors of the main office to prevent the martial law troops from entering. Online community

In response, the martial law soldiers broke the glass window connected to the People Power Party leader's office on the second floor and forcibly entered from outside, turning the scene into chaos as party staff sprayed fire extinguishers at the soldiers. At the plenary session that day, a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law was passed with 190 votes in favor out of 190 present. The martial law soldiers who had entered the National Assembly withdrew. The government lifted martial law at 4:30 a.m. after a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Yoon. The military returned the troops deployed under martial law to their units at 4:22 a.m.